^l 



PLAY 




^ 



PLAY 



COMPRISING 

GAMES FOR THE KINDERGARTEN 

PLAYGROUND, SCHOOLROOM 

AND COLLEGE 

HOW TO COACH AND PLAY GIRLS' 
BASKET-BALL, ETC. 

BY 

EMMETT DUNN ANGELL 

Department of Physical Education University of Wisconsin 

Instructor in Games Harvard Summer School of 

Physical Training ; Teacher of Games Yale 

University School of Physical Education ' 

Director of Physical Education 
Oregon Agricultural College 
etc.. etc. 



BOSTON 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 

1912 



^o' 






Copyright^ 1910, 
By Little, Brown, and Company. 



B. J. Pa«khill A; Co., Boston, U. S. A. 



TO 

E. G. MOORE 

IN RECOGNITION OF A LONG 
FRIENDSHIP 



INTRODUCTION 

THE American people cannot fail 
to welcome a new book on play. 
Throughout our country there is 
a growing appreciation of its importance 
and its necessity during childhood and 
youth. No movement of modern times af- 
fecting the life and education of the young 
has been received with greater enthusiasm 
than the one which has for its end the 
establishment of playgrounds, and the or- 
ganization and encouragement of the play 
interests of children. We have apparently 
become convinced that no child can develop 
normally unless he has opportunities for a 
large amount of diversified play; though 
the writer of this note can remember the 
time when even intelligent people thought 



INTRODUCTION 

games were useful merely for recreation. 
One rarely heard in those times that play 
was essential, alike to physical and to 
mental development. Parents and teach- 
ers would frequently correct a child by 
telling him not to waste his time in games, 
but to devote himself to profitable work 
of some kind. Happily, this attitude is 
rapidly disappearing, though it still lingers 
among us in some sections of the 
country. 

Students of human development are 
saying to-day that it is impossible for an 
individual to mature properly without al- 
most constant motor activity during the 
years preceding adolescence. It is also 
generally recognized that a child or youth 
will gain much more of value for his nerv- 
ous and physical development from spon- 
taneous than from mere formal exercises 
of any kind, either in the gymnasium or 
outside. In play one has a definite end 

vi 



INTRODUCTION 

always in view, and the effort to attain 
this captures his attention completely, and 
synthesises his whole organism, mental 
and physical. In play of this kind most of 
the muscles and all the vital functions are 
brought into action, and exercised in a 
thorough and beneficial manner. 

Organized play is much more necessary 
in American life to-day than it was fifty 
years ago, when the majority of the young 
lived in the country. The city tends to 
repress play activities. Students of this 
matter are finding that play is dying out 
among boys and girls beyond the age of 
six or seven. The old traditional games 
suited for the country cannot be well 
played under city conditions, and the 
young do not readily devise new ones 
which can be carried on under the changed 
conditions. As a consequence, it is prob- 
able that the boys and girls who are grow- 
ing up in the cities need to receive definite 
vii 



INTRODUCTION 

suggestions regarding the best way to play 
interesting and developing games. It is 
of vital importance that they should be 
brought together more than they now are 
in the give-and-take of competitive ac- 
tivity in play. The games which Pro- 
fessor Angell has described in this book 
are admirably adapted to give the young 
experience in adapting themselves to one 
another in all the essential ways which 
will be required of them later when they 
play their role as citizens in society. One 
of the most effective means of cultivating 
social feeling and readiness in social adap- 
tation in a child is to provide for him op- 
portunities for a great deal of play of the 
kind described in this book. 

One who has studied the life on the 
playground of a typical public school in a 
large city does not need to be told that 
difficulties arise thereon which can be 
solved in no way except through organ- 
viii 



INTRODUCTION 

ized play. The present writer has ob- 
served the transition which has taken 
place in the conduct, of the boys especially, 
of a certain public school since a play- 
ground has been established in its vicinity, 
and the boys and girls have been shown 
how to play interesting games. Before 
this event there was a great deal of bully- 
ing and teasing and quarreling on the 
playground, which must always be the 
case when large numbers of boys are 
thrown together without having oppor- 
tunity for any organized activities. But 
the moment games can be played lawless 
combat disappears, and the energies now 
are utilized in supporting legitimate com- 
petitive activities. Many games exercise 
the fundamental instinct of combat, but 
under rules which rob it of its viciousness, 
and really turn it into cooperative chan- 
nels. It is within bounds to say that the 
group life of children cannot remain whole- 
ix 



INTRODUCTION 

some and developing unless their energies 
can be expressed in organized play. 

Professor Angell has for a number of 
years had unusual success as a teacher of 
games and plays to children and youth of all 
ages. In this book he has indicated most 
pleasingly and effectively the fundamental 
principles of play, which make it of 
primary importance in both physical and 
mental development. He has traced the 
biology of play, and has shown this im- 
pulse to be fundamental in all normal 
human beings. In the latter two-thirds 
of the book he has indicated in a detailed 
way how a large number of interesting 
games may be played by children under 
the ordinary conditions of city life. These 
games are also well adapted for groups of 
children in the country. The book may 
be very heartily recommended to teachers, 
parents, and to all who are interested in 
the young, as well as to children them- 



INTRODUCTION 

selves who wish to learn how to play- 
games which will be full of interest to 

them. 

M. V. O'SHEA. 

The University of Wisconsin, 
19 February, 1910. 



XI 



FOREWORD 

THE material contained in this book 
is the result of many years' inti- 
mate experience with playgrounds, 
the schoolroom, college and gymnasium. 
During a course of games given by the 
author to the summer school students at 
Harvard University, it was suggested by 
the pupils that it would be a big help to 
them if many of the games were arranged 
and described in such form that they could 
readily be used in their future teaching. It 
was the original intention to collect a group 
of gymnasium and playground games for 
the benefit of teachers. As material was 
amassed, the scope of the endeavor was 
enlarged, and instead of preparing a book 
on plays and games merely for a teacher's 
convenience, the needs of other groups 
of people interested in play have been 
xiii 



FOREWORD 

considered. It is hoped that the material 
contained herein will not only stimulate 
an interest in play, but will furnish practi- 
cal information that may be utilized by 
the physical director, the playground in- 
structor, the public school teacher, the 
kindergartner and the parent; and it is 
even believed that the child may find 
games of interest that he may work out 
and enjoy with his playmates, unaided 
by any assistance but the descriptions 
and the pictures. 

No attempt has been made to gather 
and describe every game in existence, for 
there are hundreds and thousands of dif- 
ferent ways of expressing one's self in 
play. Many games have been considered 
and discarded, and it can be stated defi- 
nitely that all described in this book are 
useful and interesting. They have been 
tried many times; have been played by 
different groups of people of varying ages 
and of both sexes, with the result that 
xiv 



FOREWORD 

only those that have proven of value are 
retained. In teaching games to teachers 
at the summer schools of Harvard and 
Yale and at teachers' institutes, the au- 
thor has had the privilege of expert ad- 
vice and consultation with people who 
are working out play problems, and as 
it has taken many years to gather and 
experiment with the material collected, 
the games described are those that ex- 
perience has proven good. 

A large number of the games are origi- 
nal and are described here for the first 
time. In looking up the literature of play, 
one or two of the games claimed by the 
author are found to be too closely similar 
to other games to be entirely original. 
*' Line Football," for instance, was thought 
original, until almost an exact duplicate of 
the game was found in an old German 
book. Several have claimed '' Water Bas- 
ket Ball." It was taught by the writer in 
1903 in the Natatorium at the University 

XV 



FOREWORD 

of Wisconsin. It has since been developed 
into quite a game with a special set of rules. 

It would have been impossible to have 
done all of the work necessary in preparing 
a book of this kind if it had not been for the 
friendly and willing assistance of many who 
are interested in play and play ideals. 

Dr. M. Vincent O'Shea of the Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin has been generous and 
stimulating with his suggestions, and be- 
cause of his kindly interest in the practi- 
cal working out of the play problems, his 
helpfulness is acknowledged here. 

Prof. Carl Schrader of Harvard Uni- 
versity has given many helpful suggestions, 
and indicated valuable games derived from 
his wealth of knowledge pertaining to old 
German plays and games. 

Arthur Leland, playground architect 
of Templeton, Massachusetts, who has 
written much on practical play problems, 
has willingly furnished information, pic- 
tures and playground plans, 
xvi 



FOREWORD 

The author is especially indebted to 
Dr. Henry Curtis, head of the public 
playground system at Washington, D. C, 
for the inspiration derived from a splendid 
course of lectures given at Harvard on 
playground problems, and for many help- 
ful suggestions along practical play lines. 

Many of the beautiful photographs re- 
produced were taken by Prof. George H. 
Hudson of the Plattsburg State Normal 
School and Dr. J. C. Elsom of the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin. 

While it is impossible to name all of 
the many friends who have been helpful 
in furnishing suggestions and valuable 
material, their many kindnesses are not 
unappreciated. 

Twelve of the games described in this 
book were published by the author in two 
articles in the " Ladies' Home Journal " of 
1903-1904, while the initial chapter on 
basket-ball for women was printed in the 
"Boston Herald" in 1903. 
xvii 



CONTENTS 

(Games marked * are original games of the author) 

Page 

The Value of Play 1 

The Relation of Play to Gymnastics ... 12 

Public Playgrounds 19 

The Equipment of the Playground .... 27 

The Director of the Playground 41 

The Classification of Games 45 

Primary and Kindergarten 46 

Grammar 47 

High 48 

College r 49 

How to Teach Games 50 

Ball Games 

Medicine Ball Play * 54 

Circle Ball 56 

Sitting Down Circle Ball 57 

Touch Ball 57 

Indoor Baseball 58 

Dodge Ball . 59 

Ball Passing 60 

xix 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Object Passing 60 

Straddle Ball 60 

Straddle Pin Ball 61 

Bombardment 61 

Pass Ball 63 

Name Ball 63 

Scrimmage Ball * 64 

Plug Ball * 68 

Crowd Ball * 69 

Kicking Baseball * 71 

Human Target * 72 

Curtain Ball 73 

Line Football * 74 

One Goal Basket-ball * 75 

Basket-ball Goal Race . . ' 77 

Keep the Ball * 78 

Swat Ball* 79 

Kick Ball 80 

Wall Kick Ball 81 

Corner Ball 83 

Captain Ball 85 

Captain Basket-ball 88 

Volley Ball 89 

Pin Football * 91 

Pin Ball* " 92 

Blind Target 94 

Horse and Rider 94 

Jump the Shot (Catching Fish) 95 

XX 



CONTENTS 

Tag Games Page 

Last Couple Out 96 

Japanese Tag 97 

Cap Tag 98 

Yale Lock Tag * 99 

Co-ed Tag * 100 

Line Tag (Flank Tag) 100 

Handkerchief Tag * 101 

Prisoner's Base 102 

In and Out the Window 104 

Line Interference * 105 

Cat and Mouse 105 

Rabbit's Nest 107 

Snatch the Handkerchief 108 

Medicine Ball Tag * 109 

Bull in the Ring 110 

The Beater Goes Around Ill 

Double Tag * 113 

Three Deep 114 

Hang Tag 116 

Racing Games 

Potato Race 117 

Straddle Ball Race 118 

Indian Club Straddle Race 118 

Indian Club Race 119 

Human Burden Race 120 

Obstacle Race 120 

Chariot Pursuit Race * 121 

xxi 



CONTENTS 

Pagb 

Leap Frog Race 122 

Wheelbarrow Race 123 

Knapsack Race 124 

Medicine Ball Pursuit Race 124 

Miscellaneous Games 

Daddy on the Castle 125 

Hill Dill 126 

The Snake and the Birds * '127 

Black and White (Day and Night) 128 

Pussy in the Corner 129 

Advancing Statues 130 

Blow the Feather 132 

Blowing Ball Race 132 

Boston 133 

Peggy in the Ring 134 

Bell Cat 135 

Blind Man's Biff 136 

^^ Blind Man's Buff 136 

Circle Blind Man's Buff 137 

Drop the Handkerchief 139 

Good Morning 139 

Tournament 140 

Fox and Chickens 142 

Line Tug 143 

Ditch Tug * 144 

War* 144 

Poison Stick, or Indian Club Wrestle .... 145 

Chain Tug of War 146 

xxii 



CONTENTS 

Individual Games Pagb 

Wand Wrestling 146 

Hand Wrestling 146 

Indian Wrestling 147 

Bar Pull 147 

Sparrow Fight 148 

Chicken Fight 148 

Horseback Wrestling , . 149 

Schoolroom Games 

Mark Game * 150 

Word Game * 151 

Name Game * 151 

Pictm-e Game * 151 

Sentence Game*. 152 

Number Game * 153 

Paper Passing 153 

Flag Race 154 

Last One Out 155 

Games in the Water 

Water Tag 156 

Pull Away 157 

Keep the Ball 158 

Water Push Ball * 158 

Water Basket-ball * 159 

Water Tug of War 160 

Find the Plate * 160 

^ Find the Coin * 161 

xxiii 



CONTENTS 

Basket-ball for Women Pace 

The Coach 172 

The Center 176 

The Guard 179 

The Forward 182 

Team Work 185 

Officials and Players 187 



XXIV 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page *^ 
Fox and Chickens Frontispiece 

The Girls' Basket-ball Team 16 / 

Little Mothers 16 , 

A Boy's Ambition 17 

Primitive Instincts are not always Suppressed . . 17 

A Gang of Loyal "Rooters" 28. 

"Out by a Mile!" 28 

Doing "Stunts" 29 

Young Builders 29 

The Slides and Swings 44 > 

The Equipment of a Playground 44 - 

Telling Stories 45 

Sitting-down Circle Ball 45 

Circle Ball 60 

Scrimmage Ball 60 

Crowd Ball 61 

In and Out the Window 98 

Jump the Shot 99 

Horse and Rider . 99 

XXV 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Paob 

Line Interference 102 

Last Couple Out 103 

Japanese Tag 103 

Cat and Mouse 106 

Snatch the Handkerchief 107 

Medicine Ball Tag 110 

Rabbit's Nest . Ill 

Bull in the Ring , Ill 

The Beater Goes Around 114 

Double Tag 114 

Straddle Ball Race 115 

Leap Frog 115 

Medicine Ball Pursuit Race 128 

The Snake and the Birds 128 

Advancing Statues 129 

Peggy in the Ring 129 

Circle Blind Man's Bufif 140 

*'Good Morning" 140 

Ditch Tug 141 

Chain Tug of War 141 

Indian Club Wrestle, or Poison Stick 144 

War 145 

Chicken Fight and Sparrow Fight 145 

A Throw for Goal 164 

A Throw from Guard to Forward 165 

xxvi 



ILLUSTEATIONS 

Pago 

A Low Pass from Center to Forward 176 t 

A Throw from the Foul Line 176 

An Overhand Throw 177 

Pass Around Body, when Guarding High .... 177 

A Throw from Directly Underneath 184 

Four Ways to Throw for Goal 184 

A Foul, — Stepping over Line 185 

A Double Foul, — Hugging Ball and Both Arms 

Around 185 



xxvu 



PLAY 

The Value of Play 

IT is a significant fact that more time is 
being devoted to a study of play than 
at any previous period in the history 
of education. Educators throughout the 
country are seriously discussing at their 
meetings and conferences the value of 
physical recreation. Every school has 
its playtime, and the most up-to-date 
schools have a competent director in 
charge of the games. Progressive teachers 
are eagerly looking for new games. Nor- 
mal schools for teachers have special 
courses in games and plays, and every 
graduate is expected to be familiar with 
the latest play theories and the practical 
methods of working them out. 

A complete history of play would be a 
history of the human race, and would 

1 



PLAY 

carry us back through all chronicled time 
into that mystic world of the prehistoric. 
Never has man lived in civilized or un- 
civilized state without some form of play, 
and from the humble skin-clad child of 
primitive man, playfully practicing the 
methods of slaying the terrible cave tiger 
or the fearful mammoth, to the college 
student of to-day, deep in the intricacies 
of modern football, is a long and enchant- 
ing story, — enchanting because it tells of 
that part of the life of man which is to 
him the best. Play sums up the one great 
part of life's activities that is spontane- 
ously and enthusiastically accepted by all 
normal human beings. One does not 
look to man alone for convincing proof 
that play is an inherent quality of all 
intelligent life, for the animals of forest 
and field give us abundant evidence that 
joyous activity is not confined to the human 
breed. "As playful as a kitten" and "as 
happy as a lark" are suggestive of what is 

2 



PLAY 

found in the animal world. Not much 
could be expected of the puppy that showed 
little life or spirit in his growing days, and 
dog fanciers would never expect such a dog 
to develop into a very mighty hunter. It 
would be a poor specimen of a kitten that 
did not delight in chasing a ball or jump- 
ing at a dangling string, and it is a poor 
type of boy whose youth is not spent 
largely in satisfying the longing for tag, 
and running, and jumping, and ball, and 
swimming, and the other activities that 
build up a sturdy body and nourish a 
growing mind. How little do we expect 
from a boy who does not play vigorously, 
and how true it is that such a boy seldom 
develops into a virile, aggressive man, joy- 
ing in strong manhood, and fearlessly 
meeting the battles of life. 

In the development of play lies a strik- 
ing example of evolution, for in the games 
of childhood there is a reproduction of 
many of the past events of human develop- 

3 



PLAY 

ment. As in the embryo, one sees a pan- 
orama of the biologic development of life, 
so in play one gets a fleeting glimpse of 
the educational advancement of man. The 
child's first play is often quite meaningless, 
and exceedingly simple; he runs hither 
and thither as he responds to varying 
impulses; he piles pebbles or blocks, digs 
sand, and in a variety of ways shows that 
he is adjusting himself to his environment 
by a continuous series of playful experi- 
ments. Later the child begins to imitate 
in play. He imitates the vocations of the 
men he sees and admires; he is an engi- 
neer, a motorman, a conductor, and often 
behind a team of little human horses he 
drives the Deadwood stage-coach with 
flourish and style. Stories of savages are 
enchanting to him; he imitates the things 
he hears about, and he lives again the 
activities of his primitive progenitors. He 
is a savage, and has his bows and arrows, 
spears and knives; with other little war- 

4 



PLAY 

riors he engages in fierce battles, in which 
the terrible and awesome war-whoop rings 
out above the clash of wooden implements 
of destruction. His little band of braves 
march in Indian file along the trail into 
the convenient forest where councils of 
war are held. He builds huts and caves, 
and even contemplates staying out all 
night in his camp, and, if his nerve is good, 
he gets two or three other "kids" and 
with a blanket or two, their trusty wooden 
knives and bows and arrows within reach, 
they turn their toes to the camp fire and 
prepare to sleep, — but they don't sleep; 
the fire burns lower, the cold creeps under 
their blankets, and the shadows, flitting 
hither and thither as the fire turns to ashes, 
magnify into terrible grotesque "some- 
things" that make each little warrior for- 
get mighty deeds of valor, and long for 
the cozy bed at home. About half-past 
nine it is very probable that three or four 
small and shivering boys are trying to 

5 



PLAY 

enter their respective horaes via the win- 
dow above the woodshed, or some other 
equally inconspicuous entrance. 

Later the boy plays soldier, and with 
his companions imitates crudely the ma- 
noeuvres of squads and companies. He 
plays circus, and to the inspiring music 
of a toy drum and a tin horn performs 
daring acrobatic feats. It is in these simple 
organized plays that the future leaders are 
developed for games more complex, and 
for life more real. All is tending toward 
the team game, in which each player is 
just one of the parts of a perfect unit. In 
the early games of childhood, the ego is 
conspicuous, but later, as a member of a 
baseball, cricket, hockey, basket-ball or 
football team, the boy learns that the inter- 
ests of the individual must be sacrificed to 
the good of the larger unit. This one point, 
the submerging of self for the organiza- 
tion, develops the altruistic spirit as noth- 
ing else has ever done. New ideals are 



PLAY 

formed, and the boy's character is strength- 
ened. It is not strange, then, that scholarly 
men should, in their pedagogic schemes, 
find a place, and a large place, for the 
games of childhood. It is also true that 
they should seek the game that interests 
the largest number. They want games 
that will make all the children play. Girls 
need the play as much, and even more 
than boys, for in their quieter lives they 
miss the opportunities of continually gain- 
ing and maintaining health and strength. 
When girls once learn organized games, 
they enter into them with much enthu- 
siasm. It is only within the past few 
years that girls have played games that 
involved team-work and a high grade of 
skill. Field-hockey and basket-ball have 
afforded the directors of women's gym- 
nasiums the opportunity of introducing 
games of scientific possibilities and re- 
quiring team-work. The rapid develop- 
ment of basket-ball surprised even the 

7 



PLAY 

most sanguine enthusiasts. Wellesley, 
Smith, Bryn Mawr, Vassar, and in fact 
every prominent woman's college and co- 
educational institution in the country has 
its basket-ball teams. 

It is the contention of persons who are 
unfamiliar with the possibilities and im- 
possibilities of physical development that 
athletics for women tend to make them 
masculine, and cause them to lose the 
charms of femininity. Nothing could be 
more untrue than such an assertion. The 
masculine girl is born and not made; 
strength and physique which approximate 
those of a man are occasionally found 
in a woman, but the gymnasium or 
athletic field did not bring about the 
miracle. Girls can and do acquire strength 
of body, lungs and heart, graceful carriage 
and ease of manner in athletics, but they 
need not lose the womanly qualities or de- 
velop into an objectionable type which can 
be characterized as the "athletic girl." 

8 



PLAY 

Girls playing basket-ball acquire grace 
and physical beauty, which are a valuable 
reward for the months of practice neces- 
sary to the making of a skilled player. 
Grace is not evidenced fey the ability to 
move the body in artificial and so-called 
"esthetic" exercises. Grace is best sh®wn 
in the natural activities of a healthy girl, 
trained so that her muscular judgment 
is almost perfect. There is nothing in 
physical education that so trains her in 
this direction as play. In the game there 
is little time for self -consciousness, and 
one is never graceful if self-conscious. 

It is interesting, in a study of the value 
of play, to consider the subject nationally. 
We find that the most progressive nations 
to-day are countries devoting the most 
time to athletics and games. Germany for 
a century has been an enthusiastic player 
of games. England and America are 
even more conspicuous in that direction. 
Wellington proved himself a philosopher 



PLAY 

when he said, "The battle of Waterloo 
was won on the cricket fields of England." 
Play that has the most value is the 
kind that engages many participants. 
When athletics degenerate into a mere 
spectacle, then is the stability of the nation 
weakened. Greece led the world while 
the youth of that great country deemed it 
an honor to struggle for the laurel leaf, 
and gymnasiums were everywhere and 
universally used, and the people saw little 
good in an education that neglected the 
body. It is a significant fact that the de- 
generacy of Greece was synchronous with 
the degrading of athletics into mere pro- 
fessional contests. What had been the 
athletics of the people became a spec- 
tacle for the people.' The youth of Spain 
sits languidly in the hot, southern sun, 
puflSng a cigarette and watching a bull 
stabbed to death, while the sturdy sons of 
America and England are earning laurels 
or braving defeat on the football and cricket 
10 



PLAY 

fields. There is not a doubt that the life 
of a nation is directly related to the games 
of its people. Give the child a chance to 
enjoy play well directed, and the possi- 
bilities are greater for better men and 
women and a stronger nation. If the child 
has played well, he will work well. No 
greater mistake is made than by the parent 
who curbs his child in satisfying the play 
instinct. Play is a logical demand of 
youth, and the boy or girl whose play life 
has been stunted passes into adult life 
handicapped for the struggles to come. 
Play is an education, and it is an educa- 
tion that gives to the young pupil strength, 
health, alertness, aggressiveness, synipathy, 
friendship and courage, and, better than 
all, it paves the way for a deeper mo- 
rality than would come in any other 
way. 



11 



PLAY 



The Relation of Play to 
Gymnastics 

A system of physical training should 
give three things, — health, strength and 
grace. If any one of the three is sacrificed 
to the others, the system is incomplete and 
inadequate. There are two rival national 
systems of gymnastics which are being 
presented to the American educators as 
the best, most logical and scientific schemes 
for body building. 

The Swedes urge us to introduce the 
Swedish system into our public schools, 
and the Germans, with just as forceful 
arguments, advocate the German methods 
of building men through muscular ex- 
pression. While the two systems are 
battling over the respective merits of their 
methods, it would perhaps be well, with- 
out making any comparisons, to consider 
the subject from a somewhat broader 
12 



PLAY 

standpoint, and decide whether we really 
need any one's system. 

If physical training is a part of our 
educational scheme, it should be con- 
sidered as any other subject taught in our 
schools and colleges. Take history as an 
example. There is not any man or coun- 
try that possesses the only and original 
method of teaching history. There are 
as many methods of presenting the sub- 
ject as there are original and competent 
teachers, and the result is the pupils learn 
history. Psychology, physiology and lit- 
erature are presented with great diversity, 
and yet the result is uniform, — pupils 
learn psychology, physiology and litera- 
ture. In what wise is gymnastics differ- 
ent.^ If a teacher is properly trained and 
understands the basic principles upon the 
theory of which physical education is 
founded, it seems as though he, just as 
well as the historian, the psychologist, the 
physiologist and the litterateur, should 
13 



PLAY 

be able to arrange his work along original 
lines, and only make use of the systems 
and methods he has studied for the assist- 
ance they give in a comprehension of 
physical training in general. If he is com- 
petent, his results will balance well with 
those of his co-workers in other educa- 
tional directions, — well-trained bodies will 
harmonize with well-trained minds. 

One of the objections to the systems 
used in public school work is that the 
gymnastic period lacks in recreative value, 
and a system of gymnastics that does not 
recreate is a sorry system indeed. Too 
much emphasis is placed upon the edu- 
cational value of formal gymnastics, and 
because this educational myth is so eagerly 
believed by its devotees, the lesson in gym- 
nastics is often drudgery and unpleasant 
to the pupils. 

The average school does not allow more 
than one-tenth of the daily school period 
for gymnastics. That means that nine- 

14 



PLAY 

tenths are spent in directly training the 
mind; and with that fact before us it 
seems like a distortion of what should be a 
recreative period to turn it into another 
half-hour of brain training. Recalling the 
essentials of a perfect physical training 
system, — health, strength and grace, — 
it seems as though a much happier and 
more vigorous method could be used than 
that of having children stand in stiff posi- 
tions and tire their already weary brains 
by listening for, interpreting and respond- 
ing to orders that are given because of their 
supposed educational value. ^ /^^ 

In emphasizing the educational value of 
physical training and seeking it directly 
in formal gymnastics, we are exaggerating 
the importance of a mental training that 
should come and does come indirectly and 
incidentally in all forms of physical expres- 
sion. It is psychologically and physio- 
logically true that the motor areas of the 
brain grow in power and efficiency when 
15 



PLAY 

the muscles of the body are trained. If the 
educational side of the matter were the 
only consideration, there is a shorter and 
pleasanter method of attaining the desired 
result, and that is in play. 

Play develops judgment, compels rapid 
response to stimulus, increases the rapid- 
ity of reflexes, enforces alertness, muscu- 
lar control, rapid decision and quick 
thought; and is not all this educational 
training ? 

I believe that from a purely educational 
standpoint play is superior to any other 
form of physical training. In making this 
statement I am viewing play in its broad- 
est aspect, and am not considering a 
game of tag or chase as the ultimate in 
physical training. Fencing, boxing, wres- 
tling, dancing, swimming and games are 
all factors in body training that come un- 
der the broad definition of play. The 
point that I would make is this: that in 
our teaching of gymnastics, recreation 
16 




The Girls' Basket- Ball Team. Page 9 




Li'iTLE Mothers. Page 22 




A Boy's Ambition. Page 20 




PiiiMiTivr: Instincts aue not Always SurruESSED. Page 23 



PLAY 

should be and must be an essential ele- 
ment; that without the factor of play 
strongly in evidence, our results educa- 
tionally are diminished. 

There is not such a wide physical differ- 
ence between the man who has gotten his 
muscular training in football, baseball, on 
the track and in the water, and the boy 
who has been physically educated by 
formal gymnastics. If there is a differ- 
ence, it is in favor of the outdoor man. 
He is certainly just as alert physically, 
and it is safe to believe that his motor 
areas are as efficient and his brain as a 
whole as well developed. It is generally 
true that in health and endurance the 
athlete is superior to the gymnast, and the 
system which gives the maximum of health 
and endurance more nearly approaches 
the ideal. 

England does not do much in formal 
gymnastics; English boys get their train- 
ing on the football and cricket fields; in 
17 



PLAY 

tennis, boxing, wrestling, rowing and 
swimming, and on a training that is en- 
tirely play, they develop into men who 
compare very favorably physically and 
mentally with their Swedish, German 
and American brothers, and the beautiful 
part of it is that they dig out their physical 
salvation eagerly and joyously. 

It is not necessary to over-emphasize the 
formal side of gymnastics. If there were- 
more informality in our physical training 
scheme, the same results would be at- 
tained along lines that would mean greater 
pleasure and a more joyous response on 
the part of the pupil. 

It is unnatural for the average boy or 
girl to dislike exercise, and when our sys- 
tem of physical training is so arranged 
that a love for the exercise hour is felt by 
the pupil, then the work becomes a de- 
light and our ideals of health, strength 
and grace become more easily attainable. 



18 



PLAY 

Public Playgrounds 

A few years ago the city boy had to 
struggle for his play under conditions that 
made it almost a crime. If he tossed a 
ball in the street, it was ever with a watch- 
ful eye out for the familiar and much- 
dreaded blue suit and brass buttons of his 
natural enemy, the policeman. If he hap- 
pened to go to one of the city parks with 
all its inviting expanse of green, he was 
on every hand confronted with much 
hated little boards warning him to "keep 
off the grass." The boy, with all of his 
natural love for activity, was compelled 
to stifle the play instinct that urged him 
on, or else, rebelling against the unkind 
laws, he stole his play in defiance of law 
and order. In the one case submitting to 
fate, he stood a fair chance of developing 
into a "namby-pamby, sissy" boy — weak 
and inactive: in the other case, by defy- 
ing the law, he would lose respect for law 
19 



PLAY 

and might commit greater misdemeanors 
and eventually become really criminal. 

Some one has said that "a bad man is 
really a good man who has expressed 
himself wrongly." That is often true of 
the juvenile criminal. A boy may have 
the qualities that would make a good man, 
but the urgent calling of a spirit that will 
not be suppressed takes him into paths 
that lead to shame and ruin. It is then a 
case of environment; if he is surrounded 
by conditions that suppress the good in 
him and call out a wrong expression of 
what might have been guided along good 
channels, he becomes bad. 

It has been only in the past few years 
that our city fathers have awakened to a 
realization of a boy's play needs, and have 
attempted to provide for them. The first 
playgrounds were equipped and con- 
ducted by people not officially connected 
with the municipal administration. A few 
far-seeing men and women with philan- 
20 



PLAY 

thropic ideals were the first to realize the 
value of the public playground. They 
backed up their judgment with their own 
money, and the results were so effective 
in proving their point that the admin- 
istrators of civic affairs began to make 
appropriations to continue the work. At 
the present time there is hardly a large 
city which is not attempting a provision 
in the way of public playgrounds for the 
children. New York and Boston have 
the work well started, and are adding new 
playgrounds, extending the play spaces 
and increasing the equipment each year, 
urged on by men and women whose 
hearts are in the work. The playgrounds 
of Chicago, Cleveland and San Francisco 
simply illustrate how widespread and gen- 
eral the movement has become. 

The problem has been a difficult one to 

handle in such cities as Chicago and New 

York. When there are over three hundred 

thousand people congested in one square 

21 



PLAY 

mile of space, as happens in some of New 
York's tenement districts, the condition 
is appalling; and the endeavor to provide 
breathing space — much less play space 
— is difficult enough. Thousands of boys 
and girls are growing up in these districts 
stunted in mind and body, with never a 
real opportunity to give expression under 
decent conditions to the play instinct. 
Filth and poverty, vice and crime, on 
every hand, and thousands of future 
mothers and fathers and citizens growing 
to be men and women, deprived of the 
best part of a child's life, — play ! 

The builders of an ideal city would 
never allow such conditions to exist. 
They would limit the height of buildings 
and the number of people in each tene- 
ment, and, best of all, in every district 
there would be open spaces with grass and 
trees and sunshine and air. There would 
be no signs warning the children to **keep 
off the grass," but the space would 
2S 



PLAY 

be free to the babe and the child, to 
the eager youth and the tired mother. 
Play would be possible under conditions 
most favorable to growth — physical and 
moral. 

In some cases in congested districts a 
vacant lot has been utilized, and though 
many times too small for the numbers 
that want to play, the attempt to do some- 
thing for the children is appreciated and 
much good results. The instituting of 
public playgrounds is not a fad or a lux- 
ury, and the results have a direct and con- 
spicuous economic bearing on municipal 
affairs. Juvenile crime has decreased in 
the districts where there are playgrounds. 
This in itself is a vital consideration. It 
not only means a protection to property 
owners and a large saving to the city, but 
the more far-reaching result, — that of 
making better citizens, — is by far the most 
important of all. The boy who commits 
a petty misdemeanor may not always be 
S3 



PLAY 

naturally vicious. The "toughest little 
customer" in a neighborhood might, un- 
der better conditions, develop into a man 
of character. There is a strange restless- 
ness in boys approaching adolescence. 
They must do something; they are full of 
energy that must be worked off, and if the 
outlet for that energy can be arranged for 
along lines that are clean and elevating, 
the boy may be saved from degrading 
himself, and a useful man, instead of an 
expensive drag, is added to society. The 
same fundamental impulse that makes a 
boy play baseball is often the same im- 
pulse that makes another smash a window 
or rob a peanut stand. 

The boy must have clean interests and 
a place to work them out. The play- 
ground gives these to him. He finds there 
surroundings that appeal to him and the 
things that are attractive, — companion- 
ship, games, gymnastics and athletics. It 
is the most interesting place in the world 



PLAY 

to a child during a certain period of his 
development. 

In an ideal playground he finds a direc- 
tor who understands him, who sympa- 
thizes with him, who is ready to help him. 
He can play without fear; he can joy in 
giving vent to his superabundant spirits. 
He becomes a member of one of the 
teams and learns loyalty to organization. 
He learns to be honest in his games and to 
play fair, and when a boy learns to play 
fair a great moral victory is won that 
bears on all of the activities of his life. 
He learns that a bully is discouraged, and 
that it is the place of the strong to protect 
the weak. The little democracy of the 
playground opens the boy's eyes to a wider 
appreciation of life, and gradually, so 
gradually that he is not cognizant of the 
change, he broadens in his relations to the 
world around him. 

The public school is spoken of as our 
great American democratic institution, but 
25 



PLAY 

for pure democracy where black and 
white, Jew and Gentile, mingle freely and 
easily, the school is an aristocracy com- 
pared to the playground. The toughest 
boy in a district often becomes the play- 
ground director's right-hand man. Natu- 
rally a leader, aggressive and courageous, 
he has "been wrongly expressing him- 
self," when the playground gives him the 
opportunity to get his proper adjustment, 
and he becomes a useful instead of a use- 
less member of society. 

The playground means sunshine, fresh air 
and exercise, and these conditions give life 
and strength to thousands of little bodies 
which are starving for these very things. 

The playground has come to stay. The 
movement is young but growing, and 
when the importance of playgrounds is 
more truly appreciated, and their num- 
ber and size increased to meet the need, 
then will statistics show clearly an in- 
crease in health and a decrease in crime. 
26 



PLAY 

The Equipment of the Playground 

A playground that would be ideal in 
New York or Chicago's slum districts 
would be miserable and inadequate in 
any American city of ten to fifty thou- 
sand inhabitants. The differences in en- 
vironment occasion a difference in playing 
space and equipment. Though, in the 
main, the same kinds of apparatus and 
the same forms of teaching and the same 
games will interest the child in the large 
metropolis and in the smaller towns, the 
boy in the larger municipality is used to 
restricted territory and to play-privileges 
under difficulties. Therefore, anything 
that enlarges his play-territory appeals 
instantly because of his immediate needs. 
The boy in the smaller city has many 
play-privileges that are denied his city 
brother. 

The problem of equipment therefore 
reduces itself down to local conditions. 
27 



PLAY 

There is one piece of playground equip- 
ment, however, that cannot be dispensed 
with, and that is the playground director. 
No matter how splendid the equipment, 
the playground will be a failure unless in 
charge of a capable director. If a play- 
ground committee in a large city or a 
small town has a certain sum of money 
with which they could do one of two 
things, — equip a playground or hire a 
director, — the advice of every student of 
play conditions would be emphatically in 
favor of hiring the director, even though 
his play space lacked absolutely in equip- 
ment. A tactful, experienced, and capable 
playground expert will succeed without 
equipment. 

An ideal playground should be large 
enough to have two or more baseball 
diamonds, a couple of basket-ball courts, 
a complete set of gymnastic apparatus, 
including rings, parallel and horizontal 
bars, vaulting horses and bucks, ladders, 
28 




A Gaxg of Loyal "Rooters." Page 2Q 




" OiTT BY A Mile ! " Page 29 




Doing "Stunts." Page^O 




Young Builders. Page 32 



PLAY 

sliding poles, seesaw teeters and climbing 
ropes. The field should be divided into 
three parts, — the main one for baseball 
and football, a smaller space for appa- 
ratus and games, and still another space 
for girls and very young children. In the 
larger space, the older boys will congre- 
gate to indulge in the various group 
games. Baseball in summer has natu- 
rally the largest following, and if a field is 
provided with two or three diamonds, a 
great many boys may be taken care of 
without much attention on the part of the 
director. A suggestion now and then, a 
little friendly influence brought to bear 
occasionally, leading toward a spirit of 
fairness and clean play on the part of his 
pupils, is about all the attention that this 
section requires after the playground has 
been well organized. 

There are, of course, many problems 
that come up that must be settled as they 
arise. Disputes and arguments that lead 
29 



PLAY 

to unpleasantness must be avoided. Bully- 
ing must be absolutely prevented. The 
smaller boy and the weaker boy must al- 
ways get a fair deal. Dr. Henry Curtis 
argues that the chief value of the play- 
ground is found in the courtesy that it 
teaches. Boys are trained to be thought- 
ful, to be gentlemanly, and to be fair, 
and in these things a courtesy is devel- 
oped that makes them better candidates 
for citizenship in the bigger world for 
which the playground assists in fitting 
them. 

In the fall, on many playgrounds, the 
larger space is used for football, and in 
some sections, when the winter comes, 
it is flooded and used for skating and 
ice hockey. In the section occupied by 
the gymnastic apparatus much valuable 
work may be done. It is in this space 
that the playground instructor reaches 
the boy directly. He teaches him "stunts" 
on the various pieces of apparatus; helps 

30 



PLAY 

the youngster in learning difficult feats 
and in building up a muscular and healthy 
body; and it is here that the small un- 
organized games in which the director 
ofttimes takes an active part are taught. 
Such games as circle ball, three deep, 
and various kinds of tag and ring games 
are utilized to interest the youngster and 
broaden his play experience. 

The section for girls and children is 
one of the most valuable parts of any 
playground plan. There are pieces of 
apparatus that the girls may exercise on; 
there are teeters and slides for the young- 
sters; there are sand boxes for the 
toddlers of kindergarten age, and basket- 
ball courts where the older girls may 
play. There is sometimes a covered pa- 
vilion open on all sides, with chairs or 
benches, where the mothers may come 
and sew or read and watch their little 
ones at play. Sometimes books and mag- 
azines are kept in this pavilion for their 
31 



PLAY 

benefit. If the playground is quite com- 
plete, and has a staff of instructors, this 
section may be in charge of an experi- 
enced kindergartner, who is well informed 
in all the various methods of teaching the 
little ones to use their fingers, and who 
sometimes interests the older girls in sew- 
ing and raffia work, or in other forms of 
industrial art. 

While this arrangement of playing space 
would meet the average conditions and 
be quite ideal under many circumstances, 
there are sections of the country that fall 
far below this in the equipment for play 
that they furnish, and there are some 
cities that furnish play opportunities even 
more ideal. 

Chicago does not seem to be restrained 
by the standards that have fixed limits for 
play opportunities in other cities. In- 
stead of stopping with the amount of 
equipment that has satisfied many other 
sections, they have gone ahead and added 
32 



PLAY 

features costing thousands of dollars, with 
a result that their playground system is 
rapidly reaching a position unequalled 
anywhere in the country. They have all 
the usual features of other playgrounds, 
and in addition have built artificial lakes 
and wading pools where the children may 
have the unique experience of wading on 
real sea sand in real water, — surrounded 
by the high-storied buildings of the tene- 
ment districts. In providing just this one 
simple thing the Chicago playground com- 
mittee has satisfied a craving that exists 
wherever there are bare-legged children. 
They also have swimming pools, where 
each little bather enters the pool through 
a shower bathroom and swims in water 
that is constantly changing. This de- 
lightful recreation is indulged in under 
conditions that are healthful and sani- 
tary. Field houses are provided, and these 
structures are not of cheap and tawdry 
material, but in most cases are magnifi- 



PLAY 

cently built of masonry, brick, and wood- 
work that are of the best. Here indoor 
play opportunities are furnished, so rich 
in variety and under conditions so beau- 
tiful, that not only are the children of the 
industrial districts given privileges that 
enrich them physically and mentally, but 
their older brothers and sisters, and even 
their fathers and mothers, are cared for 
by specialists, who are studying the big 
problems of recreation from every angle. 

These play centres are not conducted 
merely during the summer months, but 
they are open throughout the year, meet- 
ing the varying conditions of play and 
social life. In these field houses are gym- 
nasiums and reading rooms, libraries and 
dance halls, and restaurants where health- 
ful food may be purchased at a minimum 
price. Clubs are formed, and night after 
night, throughout the winter, various or- 
ganizations made up of working girls and 
working boys, comprising groups of many 
34 



PLAY 

religions and all nationalities, meet for 
entertainment that is clean and whole- 
some, and conducive to the development 
of a finer conscience. There is nothing 
that so thoroughly combats the evils of 
the vicious dives and dance halls found 
in these congested districts as do these 
social play centres of the Chicago play- 
ground system. Boys and girls, and 
young men and young women, do not al- 
ways deliberately choose an environment 
that is evil and that tends toward a 
lower social life. There is an instinctive 
love for the beautiful, an innate love for 
the clean and wholesome. There are 
thousands and thousands of American 
people who, without these privileges, would 
be compelled to seek social diversion and 
recreation in places that slowly but surely 
undermine the community's moral tone. 
The good men and the good women who 
have stood firmly behind this great play- 
ground movement in Chicago have con- 
35 



PLAY 

tributed a great service to America. They 
have raised money and brought about 
legislation that has been effective in con- 
demning whole blocks of valuable city 
property. Buildings and tenements have 
been torn down that play space might be 
provided, and in this destruction of prop- 
erty and its rebuilding for play purposes 
they have given an example to other 
cities that is a rich and wonderful object- 
lesson. 

New York, with all its multitudinous 
civic problems, has worked for this play 
life along somewhat different lines. The 
transit problem has necessitated the 
construction of miles and miles of sub- 
ways and tunnels, to carry its mass of 
passengers from end to end and from 
side to side of Manhattan Island. The 
people working for play and the ideals 
that play stand for could not go beneath 
the ground to give the children of this 
great congested district the things that 
36 



PLAY 

their young lives demanded, and so they 
stole an idea from those commercial pur- 
veyors to the play instinct, the vaudeville 
promoters. After the play committee had 
availed themselves of the thousands of 
small brick school yards throughout the 
city, in working out in this congested area 
play opportunities in capsule form, they 
went a step further, or really a step higher, 
and began to utilize the roofs of the various 
school buildings. Now in New York City 
we have the unique spectacle of thou- 
sands of richly dressed men and women 
going to the tops of skyscrapers and pay- 
ing their good dollars to enjoy the efforts 
of paid entertainers, and of still greater 
thousands, not so richly dressed, flock- 
ing to the roofs of the various school 
buildings, where they furnish their own 
entertainment. 

The play spaces that are most common 
in New York would not furnish the ideal 
conditions described earlier in this chap- 
37 



PLAY 

ter, but though the spaces are limited in 
area and the equipment meagre, thou- 
sands and thousands of boys and girls 
who would be deprived of healthful play 
activity find a joy and recreation that 
means much to their poor little bodies and 
their cramped and impoverished souls. 

Going back to the problem of equip- 
ment, — there are various ways for the 
organizer of a playground system to sup- 
ply the things essential to his commu- 
nity's needs. Much of the apparatus, such 
as parallel bars, horizontal bars, rings, 
swings, seesaws, and other devices that 
give pleasure to the child, may be con- 
structed by local carpenters, if lack of 
funds compels economy in this direction. 
If the playground committee is well sup- 
plied with money, of course it is better to 
go to one of the many houses supplying 
gymnastic and playground equipment and 
buy the material ready-made. Many of 
the smaller communities, however, have 
38 



PLAY 

gotten satisfactory equipment and splen- 
did results from home-made apparatus. 
The material should be made strongly, as 
it must stand hard usage. 

It is not the purpose of this chapter to 
go into detail concerning the method of 
constructing each piece of apparatus. A 
playground committee should take into 
consideration the space that is available 
for their playground, and then get in 
touch with some one of the many play- 
ground associations for advice as to the 
best method of utilizing it. A letter writ- 
ten to any of the several houses carrying 
athletic and playground apparatus will 
bring a reply giving information about 
the various pieces of apparatus that might 
be purchased, suitable for the space in 
question. If it is desired to economize, 
and construct the apparatus locally, the 
play world is provided with an expert who 
has made a specialty of economical appara- 
tus and the best method of its distribution. 
39 



PLAY 

The planning of the playing space 
should not be haphazard. All the needs 
of the children who will utilize the 
playground should be considered. Ar- 
rangements should be so made that as 
many activities as possible may be carried 
on with the greatest economy, but without 
lacking any of the essentials. 

A playground recently noticed by the 
writer was poorly arranged, and illus- 
trates some of the things that should be 
avoided by a playground committee. In 
the first place, a plot of ground was ob- 
tained and appropriations quite adequate 
were made for apparatus. The committee 
secured the various pieces of gymnastic 
equipment, and with little thought placed 
this outfit in the very center of the playing 
space. While quite attractive in appear- 
ance, it absolutely spoiled the playground 
for baseball and other team games, a 
feature that is fascinating to all boys. By 
arranging the apparatus along one side 
40 



PLAY 

or in a corner of the play space, which 
could easily have been done, plenty of 
room would have been given for those 
who wished to use the swings or gymnas- 
tic fixtures, and a space large enough for 
baseball or other group games would have 
been provided. A great deal of good work 
may be done with the gymnastic equip- 
ment in a little area, and this should be 
kept in mind by playground organizers 
who are working to develop a playground 
with a limited territory. 

The Director of the Playground 

The director of a public playground 
should know children, not have the theo- 
retical knowledge of the child mind gained 
from studies in psychology and pedagogy, 
but the exact understanding that comes 
from a memory of his own youth, and by 
direct contact with the youngster. He 
must have qualities that appeal to the boy ; 
41 



PLAY 

he must be an athlete or a gymnast, for 
there Is nothing that wins the respect of 
the boy so quickly as muscular strength 
and physical skill. If he is not an athlete, 
he must have the qualities of leadership 
and an appreciation of the child's needs, 
so that he can direct him along the lines 
that are of greatest interest. The play- 
ground director is not necessarily a 
teacher; he is a leader, and by mixing 
with the boys in their plays and games he 
gui(ies them along by suggestion instead of 
by teaching. He should be ingenious and 
original, able to adapt himself to the many 
varying conditions that arise on a play- 
ground. He must be tactful and con- 
siderate, sympathetic, and ready at all 
times to help his boys. He must be a 
friend of the boys, and if they are glad 
to have him around and show it, , he 
can be pretty sure that his work is a 
success. 

The argument has often been advanced 
42 



PLAY 

by people unfamiliar with playground 
work that it is unnecessary to have a 
director; "give the children the place to 
play and they will play all right," is the 
argument. This is very true in a general 
way, but the results of the work on directed 
playgrounds are so much superior to what 
is accomplished on grounds undirected, 
that a return to the old way is never con- 
sidered by the cities that have had both 
experiences. 

On the undirected playground the play 
is uncontrolled, and the vicious habits of 
the street are simply transferred. The 
bully element is in evidence and the young 
and weak are crowded out. A gang of 
adult loafers often drive the boys from the 
ball diamond and use it themselves. These 
conditions do not exist on the directed 
playground. The director interests him- 
self in every child weak or strong, good or 
bad. Smoking, gambling and profanity 
are forbidden, and the boy develops under 
43 



PLAY 

conditions that are more conducive to his 
moral and physical welfare. 

Upon the playground director devolves 
the important and difficult task of chang- 
ing a boy's ideals. Many boys edu- 
cated on the street learn to look with 
respect and admiration at some older 
fellow who has won some distinction as 
a rough and a petty criminal. The boy 
is a natural hero-worshipper. If sur- 
rounded by good influences his hero may 
be a football or baseball player or some 
great athlete, or the ideal may be some 
good all-round man who has qualities 
worthy of the boy's emulation. 

The boy naturally admires vigor and 
strength and courage, and if some local 
drunken tough has figured in an esca- 
pade that has resulted in a fight with a 
policeman, the youngster of the street 
gazes with awe and admiration upon 
"de guy who licked de cop." The power 
of these degenerate influences cannot be 
44 




The Equipment of a Playground. Page 39 




The Slides and Swings. Page 41 




Telling Stories. Page 43 




Sitting-Down Ciucle Ball. Page 57 



PLAY 

overlooked, and anything that comes into 
the boy's life that diverts his attention to 
cleaner .things, and supplants a vicious 
ideal by something stronger, sturdier and 
more elevating, is worth much in the social 
advancement of the state. A tough may 
be lost to society and a citizen gained. 

The playground director is in one of the 
most useful professions, — a field that is 
making a good clean mark on the lives of 
thousands of boys. He should realize the 
importance of his opportunities and know 
that his work well done is as valuable as 
any work in the education of the boy. He 
should be a man — not a pedantic peda- 
gogue, but a man who has not forgotten 
what it means to be a boy. 

Classification of Games 

An arbitrary classification of recreative 

games is impossible, as it is peculiarly 

true that many of the games played with 

enthusiasm by the small boy are played 

45 



PLAY 



just as enthusiastically by college men. 
In a general way, however, the games 
can be listed for the pupils to whom they 
are suited. It will be found in some cases 
that one game will be in nearly all of the 
divisions. All of the games, with few 
exceptions, can be played by both sexes. 

Primary and Kindergarten 



Cat and Mouse 
Daddy on the Castle 
Kick Ball 
Chariot Race 
Dodge Ball 
Word Game 
Picture Game 
Paper Passing 
Pussy in the Corner 
Snake and Birds 
Double Tag 
Peggy in the Ring 
Blind Man's Buff 
Circle Blind Man's Buff 



Last Couple Out 
Blind Target 
Flag Race 
Mark Game 
Name Game 
Last One Out 
Blow the Feather 
Chicken Fight 
Sparrow Fight 
Advancing Statues 
Rabbit's Nest 
Bell Cat 

Drop the Handkerchief 
Good Morning 
46 



PLAY 



Grammar 

Fox and Chickens Name Ball 

Cap Tag 



Line Tag 
Bull in the Ring 
Last Couple Out 
Three Deep 
Touch Ball 
Straddle Ball 
Straddle Pin Ball 
Ball Passing 
Pass Ball 
Kick Ball 
Indoor Baseball 
Kicking Baseball 
Curtain Ball 
Dodge Ball 
Crowd Ball 
Touch Ball 
Pin Ball 

Peggy in the Ring 
Snatch the Handkerchief Wheelbarrow Race 
47 



Medicine Ball Tag 

Wall Kick Ball 

Yale Lock Tag 

Prisoners* Base 

Boston 

Line Interference 

Double Tag 

Co-Ed Tag 

Horse and Rider 

Blind Target 

Pin Football 

Plug Ball 

Line Football 

Captain Ball 

Circle Ball 

Bell Cat 

Blind Man's Buff 

Circle Blind Man's Buff 

Hand Wrestling 



Chariot Race 
Leap Frog Race 
Indian Club Race 
Obstacle Race 
Picture Game 
Number Game 
Blind Man's Biff 
Water Tag 
Horseback Wrestling 
Sparrow Fight 



LAY 

Knapsack Race 
Flag Race 
Straddle Ball Race 
Potato Race 
Sentence Game 
Object Passing 
Tournament 
Keep the Ball 
Wand Wrestling 
Chicken Fight 



Yale Lock Tag 
Prisoners' Base 
Ball Passing 
Pass Ball 
Pin Football 
Pin Ball 
Kick Baseball 
Plug Ball 
Line Football 
Chariot Race 
Leap Frog Race 



High 

Corner Ball 
Medicine Ball Tag 
Hand Wrestling 
Bar Pull 
Line Tag 
Boston 

Bombardment 
Indoor Baseball 
Medicine Ball Play 
Volley Ball 
Swat Ball 
48 



PLAY 



Indian Club Race 
Obstacle Race 
Wheelbarrow Race 
Number Game 
Blind Man's Buff 
Circle Blind Man's 
Water Push Ball 
Hand Wrestling 
Sparrow Fight 
Three Deep 
Fox and Chickens 
Cat and Mouse 
Medicine Ball Tag 
Touch Ball 
Straddle Ball 
Straddle Pin Ball 
Name Ball 



Curtain Ball 
Captain Ball 
Knapsack Race 
Human Burden Race 
Straddle Ball Race 
Buff Potato Race 

Sentence Game 

Object Passing 

Water Tag 

Wand Wrestling 

Chicken Fight 

Line Interference 

Double Tag 

Crowd Ball 

Snatch the Handkerchief 

Circle Ball 



Yale Lock Tag 
Prisoners' Base 
Indoor Baseball 
Volley Ball 



College 



Line Tag 
Bombardment 
Medicine Ball Play 
Swat Ball 



Plug Ball 
Leap Frog Race 
Indian Club Race 
Potato Race 
Water Push Ball 
Water Basket-ball 
Find the Coin 
Hand Wrestling 
Straddle Ball 
Straddle Pin Ball 
Corner Ball 
Pin Ball 
Hand Wrestling 
Bar Pull 



PLAY 

Chariot Race 
Human Burden Race 
Straddle Ball Race 
Pull Away 
Keep the Ball 
Water Tug of War 
Find the Plate 
Chicken Fight 
Three Deep 
Fox and Chickens 
Medicine Ball Tag 
Double Tag 
Crowd Ball 
Circle Ball 



How To Teach Games 

A game is somewhat different from a 
problem in mathematics or a lesson in 
history, and this fact should be kept in 
mind in its teaching. The instructions 
should be brief and to the point, and little 
time should be wasted before the pupil is 
actually playing the new game taught. A 
50 



PLAY 

game should be pleasantly taught. It 
should not be forced upon a pupil as 
though it were some unpleasant task that 
must be performed. The teacher should 
not scold and be irritable, and while pos- 
sibly these instructions might apply to 
the teaching of any subject, they have a 
definite application when the subject is 
play. 

The teacher should feel play if he is to 
teach play. He must realize that in play 
he is furnishing something that is joyous 
and beautiful, and if it lacks in joyousness 
and in delight, his teaching is a failure. 
In play, the instructor comes closer to the 
pupil than in any other form of teach- 
ing. He brings himself to the level of 
the learner without losing in dignity or 
sacrificing his pupils' respect. 

If the game taught be just the simple 

game of tag, a few brief words to indicate 

the purpose of the game and then the 

teaching should continue as the children 

51 



PLAY 

play. If the game is more complex, the 
Jearning may be somewhat slower, but 
the teacher can hasten a pupil's grasp of 
the essentials of any game by little helpful 
suggestions as the play progresses. The 
point is this, the recreative hour should 
not be spent in pedantic descriptions of 
a game, but should be spent in the ac- 
tual playing of that game, and the 
teacher should study the shortest method 
of plunging his class into the joyousness 
of play. 

If the class be large, and it is found that 
a game such as ''Cat and Mouse," for 
instance, is not furnishing enough action 
for all of the pupils, it may be best to 
divide the class into two groups and have 
two games of "Cat and Mouse.'* This 
should be kept in mind at all times, that 
the game arrangement should be such that 
all of the pupils have ample opportunity 
of taking part in the play. It should not 
be the endeavor of the teacher to see how 
52 



PLAY 

many games he can teach his classes, but 
that each game taught should be thoroughly 
enjoyed. 

If the game be a complex team game, 
such as basket-ball or indoor baseball or 
hockey, then the method of teaching is 
somewhat different as the instruction in 
these games becomes more personal. 
Each player must be taught different 
things to do, — how to catch the ball, how 
to throw for goals, various ways of passing 
and avoiding opponents. It is, however, 
in the teaching of the simple easy game 
that is readily learned and immediately 
enjoyed that the average teacher finds his 
opportunity, and a few points kept clearly 
in mind will add to one's success in caring 
for the play period. 

Therefore : 

Be brief and to the point. 
Lose as little time as possible in 
getting your class started in the 
actual playing of the game* 
53 



PLAY 

Don't scold. 

Modify your discipline to conform 

with play ideas. 
Be companionable. 
Don't be pedantic. 
Insist upon fair play. 
Don't let your dignity prevent you 

from enjoying the game yourself. 

Medicine Ball Play 

The medicine ball, invented by Robert 
J. Roberts, the "grand old man " of 
physical training, is one of the most 
useful pieces of recreative exercising ap- 
paratus in the gymnasium. It may 
be used in such a variety of ways in 
drills, in throwing for exercise or in 
games — that it is a boon to physical di- 
rectors. A gymnasium should not be 
equipped without a good supply of medi- 
cine balls varying from two to twelve 
pounds in weight. 

54 



PLAY 

The game of Medicine Ball Passing 
is purely recreative, and is simply one 
method of getting a lot of exercise in a 
pleasant way. The class forms a large 
circle around the entire gymnasium, and 
several balls are started passing from one 
to another. The teacher is one of the 
circle and directs the passing. The play- 
ers imitate him as he changes from one 
style of passing to another. He throws 
the ball in the ordinary way, — the two- 
hand push straight from chest, a one- 
hand throw, like putting the shot, touches 
the ball to floor and throws with a straight- 
arm sweeping motion, turns his back and 
throws over head, stands astride and 
throws back between legs. These and 
many other styles of throwing he illus- 
trates and the class imitates. He makes 
the circle smaller by calling out *'One 
step forward march." He keeps repeat- 
ing the order at intervals, while the balls 
of course are still flying around, until the 

55 



PLAY 

players are formed in a small circle 
shoulder to shoulder and passing the 
balls with great rapidity. 

The next order is *'Sit down." The 
players sit and the balls still go around. 
The exercise ends by throwing all the 
balls into the circle and kicking at them 
until they are all kicked out. For a lot 
of good vigorous exercise presented in a 
pleasing way and compelling every man 
to do his share of the work, Medicine Ball 
Passing cannot be beaten. 

Circle Ball 

One of the most popular of all games 
played for recreation by college men and 
women is Circle Ball. 

A circle is formed with one of the play- 
ers standing within. The players throw 
a light medicine ball or basket-ball from 
one to another. The one in the center 
tries to intercept the ball or make one 
56 



PLAY 

of the players drop it. If a player muffs 
the ball he becomes "it," or if the player 
in the center blocks the throw or catches 
the ball, the thrower becomes ''it." The 
game is full of action and develops judg- 
ment in throwing and catching. 

Sitting Down Circle Ball 

This is a variation of ordinary Circle 
Ball. The players sit in the circle; to 
make one of the circle ''it," it is only 
necessary for the center player to touch 
the ball when a basket-ball is used. When 
a medicine ball is used, it is necessary 
to get the ball. In Sitting Circle Ball 
a player dropping the ball does not 
become "it." 

Touch Ball 

A circle is formed, all the players stand- 
ing shoulder to shoulder. One player 
is selected who must remain outside the 
57 



PLAY 

circle and try to touch a medicine or 
basket-ball that the circle players pass 
from one to the other. When the player 
on the outside touches the ball, the one 
who has possession of it at the time be- 
comes "it." If a player drops the ball, 
the penalty is the same. 

Indoor Baseball 

This game is played like regular base- 
ball, but is adapted to indoor use by hav- 
ing a soft ball about twice the size of a 
baseball and a small bat. The rules and 
material for the official game can be fur- 
nished by any athletic house. The game is 
splendid for indoor exercise and very in- 
teresting. Mr. Henry Etling, instructor in 
public school gymnastics at Pittsburgh, 
Peilnsylvania, has varied the game in 
several ingenious ways. He places vault- 
ing bucks in front of each base, and the 
base runner is compelled to vault before 
reaching base; or, with heels together, 
58 



PLAY 

base runners are compelled to hop be- 
tween bases. Another variation is to 
have mats between bases, and each run- 
ner must roll over before reaching base. 
These exercises add much to the amuse- 
ment of the game. 

Dodge Ball 

Half of the players form a large circle 
and the other half stand within. The 
players forming the circle have a basket- 
ball and try to hit the "Dodgers" within. 
When one is hit, he drops out. When 
the last one has been hit, the circle takes 
the place of the "Dodgers" and the game 
continues. Interest can be added by 
making the game competitive. A watch 
is held by the teacher, who notes the time 
required by each circle to put the others 
out. The circle finishing in the shortest 
time wins. 



59 



PLAY 

Ball Passing 

In this g^ame a circle is formed and a 
basket-ball is passed around from player 
to player. The teacher keeps introduc- 
ing more balls until five or six or even 
more are rapidly following around the 
circle. The balls may be of different 
sizes and weights, — basket, medicine, ten- 
nis and indoor baseballs may be used. 
When a player drops a ball, he must stop 
playing. 

Object Passing 

This is played just the same as Ball 
Passing, only the game is complicated by 
the use of various objects. Balls, Indian 
clubs, dumb-bells, wands, etc., are used 
to add difficulty to the game. 

Straddle Ball 

The players form a circle with feet far 
apart and touching the feet of their neigh- 
bors. One player is selected who takes 
60 




Circle Ball. Page 56 




Scrimmage Ball. Page 64 



PLAY 

his place in the circle and tries to throw a 
basket-ball between the feet of any one in 
the circle or between any two players. If 
he succeeds, the player whose feet it went 
between or to whose right it passed must 
exchange places with the player in the 
center. 

Straddle Pin Ball 

The players take the same formation 
as in Straddle Ball. Each player stands 
an Indian club between his feet, which 
he must guard. The center player tries 
to knock down one of the pins with the 
basket-ball. When successful, the player 
whose pin is knocked down exchanges 
places with the player in the center. 

Bombardment 

A line is drawn across the center of the 

field of play. The teams line up from 

fifteen to twenty-five feet back of the line 

in their own territory. Each player has 

61 



PLAY 

an Indian club to guard that stands on 
the floor beside him. Several medicine 
or basket balls are used, an equal number 
being given to each team, and the object 
is to knock down the pins of your oppo- 
nents. The balls must be thrown as soon 
as secured and the players are permitted 
to run up to the line to make a shot. When 
a pin is knocked down, the guard of that 
pin must stand it up again before return- 
ing the ball. The game continues until 
the number of points decided on has been 
made by one of the teams. If a player ac- 
cidentally knocks down his own pin, it 
counts a point for the opponents just the 
same as though they had knocked it down 
with the ball. 

Variation: An interesting variation of 
the game which adds much to the agility 
required of the players is to count two 
points every time a pin is knocked down, 
and one point every time a ball passes 

62 



PLAY 

between any two of the pins unstopped 
by the guards. 

Pass Ball 

The players form a circle and count off 
by twos. A number one has a basket or 
medicine ball and a number two, directly 
opposite, also has a ball. At the signal to 
start, the balls are passed around the circle 
to the right, the ones throwing to the ones 
and the twos to the twos. The game con- 
tinues until the ball of one side overtakes 
and passes the ball of the other. 

Name Ball 

The players form a circle, and a basket, 
tennis or indoor baseball is thrown in the 
air by a player standing in the center. As 
he throws the ball, he calls the name of 
one in the circle. This player must rush 
forward and try to catch the ball as it de- 
scends. If he succeeds, he throws the 
ball into the air, calling the name of some 



PLAY 

other player. If he fails and muffs the 
ball, all of the circle players run until he 
calls "stop." He cannot order them to 
stop until he has recovered the ball. From 
where he picks up the ball he must try to 
hit a player with it. If he succeeds, the 
player who is hit will pick up the ball and 
try to hit another. The players who are 
being thrown at may move the body but not 
the feet. This target practice continues 
until a player misses a shot. The player 
missing the shot drops out of the game, 
and the one missed throws the ball up and 
calls the next name. 

Scrimmage Ball 

A floor marked for basket-ball can be 
used. The ball should be a medicine ball 
weighing from four pounds upwards; or 
a crowd ball can be used. There should be 
an even number of men on each side, 
half of each team acting as forwards and 
the other half as guards. 
64 



PLAY 

The ball is placed on the floor half-way 
between the two goals. The players line 
up back of their respective goals. 

A A 



B a ® 

o o 

• c ^ 

o • o 

o o 

o o 



A A 

•-Forwards, O-Guards, AA-Goal line, BB-Foul line, C-Ball. 

At a signal from the referee, the for- 
wards from each team rush for the ball 
and try to get it across their opponents' 
goal line by pushing, or scrimmaging it 
along with one hand. The guards of each 
team must remain back of their respec- 
tive goal lines and act as goal defenders. 
When a goal is made, the ball is placed 
in the centre of the field again, and at the 
referee's signal the guards rush for the 
ball and the forwards become guards, and 
65 



PLAY 

so on throughout the game, the guards 
and forwards changing positions at the 
end of each goal. The guards must re- 
main back of their goal line, and in de- 
fending goal are allowed to place one foot 
in front of goal line. If they step over the 
goal line with both feet to block a play it 
is a foul. 

Fouls : All rough play, such as hitting, 
pushing, tackling, etc., propelling the ball 
with both hands at the same time, picking 
up the ball and throwing it, kicking the 
ball, or blocking with any part of the body 
except the hand. A player cannot hit the 
ball when he is down. When a man falls, 
he must be on his feet before he can touch 
the ball again. Violation of this rule is a 
foul. 

Penalty for Fouls: When a foul is 
made, the forwards from the offended 
side are allowed to kick ''a goal." The 
offenders must retire back of their goal 
line while the forwards stand in front of 
66 



PLAY 

the goal on the foul line. (See diagram.) 
The ball is thrown into the air by one of the 
forwards, while another of the forwards 
tries to bat it across the goal line as it 
descends. The forward that throws the 
ball cannot bat it. The side that com- 
mitted the foul tries to prevent a goal by 
knocking the ball back into the field of play. 
If the ball touches the floor back of the 
goal, it is a goal and counts one point for 
the side that "kicked the goal"; but if the 
ball is blocked and lands in front of the 
goal line, it is again in play (the same as 
in basket-ball) , and the forwards from each 
team rush for the ball and continue the 
game as before. A regular goal from the 
field counts two points. A goal on a foul 
counts one point. The distance of the 
foul line from the goal line must be gov- 
erned by the weight of the ball. The game 
should be played in two halves of five or 
ten minutes' duration. There is no off- 
side play and no out of bounds. 
67 



PLAY 

In a large gymnasium, or in certain cir- 
cumstances, bounds may be used, the man 
touching the ball first putting it in play, as 
follows: Have all the forwards stand at 
least ten feet from the man out of bounds 
and have him put the ball in play by scoop- 
ing or knocking it into the field. The 
chief value of the game lies in the fact 
that no man has a more important posi- 
tion than any other on the team. As they 
become forwards and guards alternately, 
every man is afforded the same amount 
of exercise and the same opportunity to 
distinguish himself. 

Plug Ball 

Two lines are drawn from wall to wall 
about twenty feet apart, and the two 
teams line up with all of the basket-balls 
and medicine balls in the gymnasium 
equally divided. They throw the balls 
back and forth, and whenever a ball 
touches the floor in the territory of either 
68 



PLAY 

side it counts a point for the side making 
the throw. The balls must be thrown 
across the intervening space, and failure 
to do this counts a point for the other team. 
Two scorers should officiate, one counting 
the points made for each team. The team 
scoring twenty-one first wins. This is a 
game for very large classes, and the num- 
ber of balls used should be equal to about 
one for every seven or eight players. 

Crowd Ball 

One of the troublesome problems in 
physical training is to find games that will 
hold the interest and give recreation and 
exercise to an unlimited number of play- 
ers at one time. It was with this need in 
mind that Crowd Ball was originated and 
introduced at the University of Wisconsin. 

A ball, made exactly like a basket-ball, 
though much larger (twenty inches in di- 
ameter), is used. The game can be played 
indoors or out in the open. When played 



PLAY 

outdoors, two teams face each other in 
the centre of the field, ten feet apart. The 
ball is thrown in the air, and as it descends 
the players rush toward it and, by batting 
and throwing, try to force the ball down 
the field and across the goal line of the 
opponents. When the ball goes across 
the goal line of either team, a point is 
counted for the side making the goal. The 
goal lines extend across the entire field at 
each end. It is not necessary to mark the 
line, but the players can be given to un- 
derstand that when a ball goes beyond a 
certain point a goal is counted. When 
the game is played in the gymnasium, the 
wall at each end of the room is used as 
the goal. When the ball touches the wall, 
a goal is counted. The number of points 
to be played for can be decided at the 
beginning of the game, and the side mak- 
ing the number first wins. 



70 



PLAY 



Kicking Baseball 



This is played just the same as base- 
ball, with a few exceptions. The ball is a 
basket-ball; the bat, the batsman's foot; 



Aft. 

rngft. 

MOMS 



PnrCHER'S BOX 



D 



and a player can be put out as in baseball, 
and also by being hit with the ball while 
running bases. The home plate is four 
feet wide and two feet deep, and the bats- 
man stands on it. The bases are thirty 
or forty feet apart, according to the size 
71 



PLAY 

of the field. The pitcher stands back of a 
line thirty feet from the batter. Three 
strikes put a batsman out if the catcher 
catches the last strike on the first bounce. 
A strike is a ball that crosses the plate lower 
than the batsman's knee. The first two 
fouls count as strikes, but after two strikes 
fouls do not count. If a foul or fly is 
caught, the batter is out. There may be 
five or more players on a team. The game 
seems to afford equal enjoyment to boys 
and girls. It gives girls a better under- 
standing of the national game, and at the 
same time affords them an exercise that 
is not too violent and is full of fun. 

Human Target 

This game keeps one player pretty busy 
and affords the others considerable amuse- 
ment. One is selected for the target, and 
it is his business to avoid being hit by the 
basket-ball that the others are passing 
around and throwing at him. When the 

72 



PLAY 

ball is held by a player he cannot run 
toward the target and throw it, but must 
throw the ball from where he gets it. If 
in poor position for a good shot, he 
can throw the ball to some one nearer 
the target. When hit, a new target is 
selected. 

Curtain Ball 

A curtain is stretched across the gym- 
nasium, the upper edge of which should 
be about ten feet from the floor. Any 
number of players may take part in the 
game and, divided into two teams, are 
distributed over the floor, on each side 
of the curtain. A basket-ball is used, and 
the object is to throw it over the curtain 
to the players on the other side, who re- 
turn it. Every time the ball is not caught, 
it counts a point for the throwers. Some- 
times the ball may be thrown hard and 
far, and next time it may be just dropped 
lightly over the top of the curtain. The 
73 



PLAY 

game is interesting and amusing because 
of the element of uncertainty, and the 
fact that the players cannot see their 
opponents. 

Line Football 

Two teams face each other on lines about 
thirty feet apart, stretching from wall to 
wall in the gymnasium. A basket-ball is 
placed in the centre of the field of play, 
and at the signal ''start" two players from 
the right end of each line run toward it. 
The object is to kick the ball across the 
line of the opponents, — either between 
their feet or over their heads. The kick- 
ers must not use their hands, but the players 
on the line may guard to prevent scoring 
by kicking or batting the ball back into 
the field of play. They may only step over 
the line they are guarding with one foot. 
When a goal is made, the kickers take 
their places at the left end of the line, and 
two more players from the right end of 
74 



PLAY 

each line become kickers. The game 
continues until every player has been a 
kicker, and the side having the most 
points wins. 

One Goal Basket-ball 

This is a good game to use when four 
or six players are in the gymnasium and 
desirous of participating in a little basket- 
ball play. With less than the full number 
of players on a regular basket-ball team, 
it is too strenuous a game when both 
goals are used. 

In One Goal Basket-ball the players 
are divided. One of them throws the ball 
into the air, and the one getting it when 
it comes down has the privilege of starting 
the game. He stands on the free throw 
line and makes a try for goal. If he suc- 
ceeds, one point is counted for his side 
and he is entitled to another free throw. 
He is privileged to make free throws and 
score points until the ball misses the 
75 



PLAY 

basket. As soon as it misses the basket, 
however, it is in play, and the game con- 
tinues as in a regular game of basket- 
ball, with the difference that only one 
goal is used, both teams shooting for the 
same basket. When a player makes a 
basket two points are added to the score 
of his side, and he is entitled to a free 
throw as a reward. As in the start of the 
game, he is entitled to free throws until 
the ball misses the basket, when it is 
again in play. Every player is both a 
guard and a forward, — a guard when the 
opponents have the ball and a forward 
when his side has the ball. 

A game is completed when one side has 
made eleven points, or, if a longer game 
is desired, twenty-one points may be the 
total number required for winning. 

It is a purely recreative game without 
any attempt to call fouls, although the 
general rules of basket-ball are observed 
by the players. 

76 



PLAY 

Basket-ball Goal Race 

This is a good game for practice in goal 
throwing. Two teams line up at right 
angles to and under one of the goals, about 
six feet apart. The first player in each 
line has a basket-ball. At the signal 
"Go," both of the players try to throw a 
basket, and continue throwing until a 
goal is made. As soon as successful, the 
next player picks up the ball and throws. 
When every player in one line throws a 
goal, the game is finished and that line 
wins. 

Variation: Some of the familiar fea- 
tures of ball racing games may also be 
used in connection with Basket-ball Goal 
Race. 

The lines may form as described above, 
but the balls are given to the player in 
each line farthest from the goal. At the 
signal to start, the two end players pass 
the ball to the next one in their respective 
77 



PLAY 

lines, and so on, until the first players in 
each of the lines receive the balls; they 
must then try to throw the ball into the 
basket and continue throwing until a goal 
is made. As soon as a player makes a 
goal, he picks up the ball and runs to the 
foot of the line, where the passing is again 
started. 

The game continues until every player 
in one line has made a basket, thus win- 
ning the game. 

Variation: Various forms of passing 
may also be used. For example, the game 
of Straddle Ball Race may be used, with 
the added feature of having each one of 
the players throw for the basket, as 
described above. 

Keep the Ball 

There are several games that are valu- 
able in preliminary basket-ball coaching. 
Keep the Ball is as simple as any, and 
develops judgment in passing, catching 
78 



PLAY 

and guarding. The players are divided 
into two teams, and it is the object for 
each team to try and keep the basket- 
ball by passing from one to the other. The 
players can take any position and go where 
they please. A player must throw the 
ball from where it is caught, and must 
not run with it. To make the game more 
interesting, a point may be awarded the 
team making ten successive passes. 

Swat Ball 

This is a game full of vigorous ac- 
tion, and is much enjoyed by college 
men. 

The class is divided into two teams 
facing each other about twenty feet apart, 
and all of the medicine balls and basket- 
balls are divided equally. At the signal 
to start, the men try to hit their opponents 
with the balls as in a snowball fight. When 
a man is hit by one of the balls he must 
drop out of the game, and he is not privi- 
79 



PLAY 

leged to pick up the ball and throw it 
at any of his opponents. Other mem- 
bers of his team, however, may use the 
ammunition of the enemy in continuing 
the attack. 

The players are not restricted to any 
particular territory after the game is once 
started, and are permitted to run into the 
camp of the enemy in their endeavors to 
make an accurate shot. 

The game continues until all of one side 
have been hit, thus compelling them to 
drop out, or a time limit may be fixed. 
Then the side having the greater number 
of players in the game when time is called 
wins. 

Kick Ball 

This game is much liked by young 
players, and even college girls enjoy it as 
a change. The players form in two solid 
lines facing each other and sitting on the 
floor about four feet apart. Two players, 
the captains, stand at opposite ends of the 
80 



PLAY 

path formed by the lines. A basket-ball 
is rolled by one of them on the floor be- 
tween the lines, and the players sitting on 
the floor try to kick the ball over the heads 
of the opponents. They must keep their 
hands on the floor and use their feet only. 
When the ball is kicked over, a point is 
counted for the team making the score. 
The other captain then takes the ball 
and rolls it from his end. The game con- 
tinues until one team makes the number 
of points agreed on. 

Wall Kick Ball 

Variation: An original arrangement of 
Kick Ball is taught by L. R. Burnett, di- 
rector of the Cunningham Gymnasium at 
Milton, Massachusetts, that adds new in- 
terest to the game. The two lines form at 
right angles to one of the gymnasium walls, 
and instead of having captains an umpire 
rolls the ball. He stands about fifteen feet 
from the end of the two lines, and rolls the 
81 



PLAY 

ball between the lines and against the wall. 
The players must not kick the ball until it 
rebounds from the wall. When it is kicked 
over one of the lines, the player sitting near- 



est the wall in that line must run and get 
the ball and take his place in the line at the 
umpire's end. The player facing him in 
the opponent's line near the wall must run 
and touch the umpire and take his place 
at the opposite end of his own line. The 
one of the two players succeeding in meet- 
ing the conditions and in getting to a 
sitting position in his own line first wins a 
point for his side. The game is continued 
until all of the players have been runners, 
8^ 



PLAY 

and the side having the greater number 
of points wins. 

Corner Ball 

This game is somewhat similar to Cap- 
tain Ball, but not quite so complicated. ' 

A line is made across the centre of the 
gymnasium floor or playing space, run- 
ning from side to side. About twenty-five 
feet from the line, and in each corner of 
the playing space, circles about eight feet 
in diameter are made. A gymnasium mat 
may be substituted in each corner for the 
circles. 

Two players from each side stand in 
the circles located in the territory of their 
opponents. The game is started as in 
basket-ball, the ball being thrown between 
two centre players ; they try to bat the ball 
to the players of their own side, who are 
scattered over the field of play in their 
own territory. These players are known 
as the guards. 



PLAY 

The object of the game is for the guards 
to try to throw the ball to either one of the 
two players located in the circles in the 



0. 


■ 


B B 


B " 


B 


M ■ 


B 


B B 


^ A 


A 1 A A 




A ^ 


A 




A 


A 


0' 


' 



opponents' territory. They also endeavor 
to prevent the occupants of the circles in 
their territory from getting the ball. They 
are not permitted to cross the line or to 
step into the circles. If either of these 
84 



PLAY 

two rules are violated a point is scored 
for the opponents. The players within 
the circles are allowed to step one foot 
in outside territory. A point is also scored 
every time the ball is thrown to and caught 
by one of the players in the corner circles. 
The game does not stop when a corner 
player catches the ball, but he may throw 
it back to any one of his guards, who con- 
tinues the game. The game is completed 
when the agreed number of points has 
been won by either team. 

Captain Ball 

This is one of the team games that may 
be made very popular. The diagram 
illustrates a game for twenty players, ten 
on a side, but a greater or lesser number 
may be used. For twenty players the 
field should be about fifty or sixty feet 
long, divided by a line from wall to wall, 
if indoors. There are five circles in each 
half of the field; the centre circle is oc- 
85 



PLAY 

cupied by the Captain. Each circle should 
be about three feet in diameter. The 
Captain's circle may be a little larger, 
say four or five feet. In the diagram the 
A's are all on one team and the B's on 
the other. Five of the A's occupy circles, 
and the other five guard the circles of the 
B's. Each A circle is guarded by a B. 
The game is started by the two guards 
of the Captain's circles standing astride 
the centre line, and having the ball thrown 
between them. Each tries to bat it to one 
of his own players. The object is to get 
the ball to the Captain, but it must come 
from one of the side circles to count a point. 
For instance, if one of the A's guarding a 
B circle should get the ball, he must not 
throw directly to his A Captain, but to 
one of the side circles, who will then try 
to throw to the Captain in the centre, thus 
scoring a point. 

There is one other way of scoring a 
point, and that is by making a circuit of 
86 



PLAY 

the circles with the ball. If A in circle 1 
gets the ball, he can throw to 2, and 2 to 3 
and 3 to 4, thus scoring a point. The circle 



®B 


® 


a® 


®B 


B 


B® 




A 




(s)* 




A® 




® 




®* 




A® 



players must not step out of the circle, 
nor may the guards step into a circle. The 
ball must not be kicked, nor may a player 
take any steps after catching it. An in- 
fringement of the rules gives the ball to 
87 



PLAY 

the Captain's guard of the opposing side. 
The guards may run where they please to 
guard or get the ball, and may advance it 
to the Hue by passing as in basket-ball, 
though they must not step over the line. 

The game should be played in two 
halves of five minutes each, or in four 
quarters of five minutes each without 
any rest between. At the end of each 
quarter the guards play in the circles, 
and the circle players get the more active 
exercise of guarding. 

Some teachers of the game give the 
circle players greater latitude by per- 
mitting them to step one foot out of the 
circle. Another feature of the game is to 
place the Captain on a spring or beat- 
board. This elevation gives him an ad- 
vantage in catching the ball. 

Captain Basket-Ball 

This is a variation of the same game 
and introduces basket throwing as the 
88 



PLAY 

feature. The field is laid out in the same 
way with the exception of the centre 
circle. Instead of having the Captain in 
the centre circle, there are two Captains 
in circles about fifteen feet apart and near 
the goals. The ball must come to one of 
the Captains or forwards from one of the 
side circles as before, and he will try for a 
basket. The basket counts two points, 
as in basket-ball. More players may be 
used in either game by adding to the 
number of circles. 

Volley Ball 

This is practically a game of tennis 
played by a large number with a basket- 
ball instead of a tennis-ball, using the 
open hand for the racquet. If played 
outdoors, the court may be marked off 
with lines from forty to seventy-five feet 
long and about two-thirds of the length 
in width. The net is stretched across the 
court, with its upper edge between six and 
89 



PLAY 

seven feet above the ground. The play- 
ers scatter over their territory, and the 
game is started by a player on one of the 
teams, — the server. He stands back of 
the base line, throws the ball into the air, 
and hits it with his clenched fist as it de- 
scends, driving it over the net. He is 
allowed two trials as in tennis, and if he 
fails to bat the ball over the net in two 
trials the serve goes to the other side. 
The receiving side volleys the ball back 
by hitting with the palm of one hand. A 
player may juggle the ball in the air be- 
fore returning it, but must not catch it. 
The ball is volleyed back and forth until 
one side fails to return it, by dropping the 
ball or driving it into the net or out of the 
court. The serving side is the only side 
that scores, and they retain the service 
until put out. A player need not try to 
bat the ball directly over the net, but may 
relay the ball to some one of his own side 
nearer the net, who may again relay the 
90 



PLAY 

ball by batting it to one of his own side or 
may drive it directly over the net. Some 
teachers of the game give the players the 
privilege of letting the ball bounce once 
before returning it. The game is won by 
the side having the most points after all 
have had a chance to serve, or a deiSnite 
number of points may be the limit. 

Rn Football 

Two circles, eight feet in diameter, are 
marked on the floor, about forty feet 
apart. The teams line up in front of the 
circles, and a basket-ball is placed on the 
floor in the centre of the gymnasium. 
Six Indian clubs stand in the centre of 
each circle. 

The game is practically the old game 
of association football. 

Every time the ball knocks a pin down 

it scores a point for the side making the 

kick. The ball is in play all of the time, 

and may be kicked from the rear of a 

91 



PLAY 

circle or from the front. The players 
must not use their hands to catch the ball, 
but may stop it with one hand and kick it 
as it drops to the floor. 

It is a foul for a player to step into his 
ring or into the ring of his opponent. A 
foul entitles the opponents to a free kick 
from a line twenty-five feet away. In a 
free kick, the team kicking lines up with 
the ball, and the opponents must be on 
the side of the circle farthest from the 
kicker. If a pin is missed, the ball is in 
play where it falls. One point is scored 
for every pin which is knocked down in 
regular play or by a foul kick. 

Pin Ball 

This is a variation of the game of 
basket-ball. 

The field is marked out as in pin foot- 
ball, namely: with a circle about six feet 
in diameter at each end of the field. The 
circles used to partially surround the free 
92 



PLAY 

throw line in basket-ball may be used. 
An Indian club stands in the centre of 
each circle. The game is started and 
played as in basket-ball, and in general 





aB 




Ba 




o 


ba 


® 


ab 


o 



basket-ball rules should be observed. If 
a player of either side steps within the 
circle, a foul is called against his side, and 
a point arbitrarily counted for his oppo- 
nents. One point is scored each time the 
pin is knocked down with the basket- 
ball. 

In playing this game, the sides need 
not necessarily be limited to the number 
generally used in a regulation basket-ball 
93 



PLAY 

game. As many as ten or twelve on a side 
have played the game successfully. 

Blind Target 

The players form in a line facing one 
player — the target — who stands ten or 
fifteen feet in front of the line with his 
back turned. The line has a tennis or 
basket-ball, and passes it from one to the 
other. The target counts ten, and when 
he reaches ten the one at that time hold- 
ing the ball may hit him with it. The 
target turns and guesses who threw the 
ball; if he guesses correctly, the thrower 
becomes the target, or if the thrower 
misses the shot he becomes the target. 

Horse and Rider 

A game for boys. Half of the boys are 

horses and half are riders. The riders 

sit on the shoulders or backs of the horses 

and pass a basket-ball from one to the 

94 



PLAY 

other. If a rider muffs the ball, all of the 
riders dismount and run. The first horse 
getting the ball calls "Halt," and the 
riders must immediately stop. The horse 
holding the ball then tries to hit a rider 
with the ball, which must be thrown from 
where he picks it up. The riders may 
dodge by moving the body, but must not 
move their feet. If the horse hits a rider, 
all of the riders become horses, and all of 
the horses become riders. 

Jump the Shot (Catching Fish) 

This game is played very extensively 
in Swedish gymnasiums, and derives its 
name from the fact that the jumping- 
standard rope with bags of shot attached 
to each end is used. A long, light stick is 
just as good. 

The players form a circle, and the 

leader in the centre swings the rope or 

stick close to the ground, the players 

jumping as it approaches. Whenever a 

95 



PLAY 

player fails to get over the rapidly moving 
rope and stops it, he not only gets a sharp 
rap on the legs, but must drop out of the 
circle. The leader increases the rapidity 
of the swinging, and continually raises it 
higher from the ground, compelling the 
players to respond more quickly and to 
jump higher. 

Variations: Have the players "right 
face" and jump in that position; stand 
on one foot and jump ; get down on hands 
and knees, and jump from that position 
as a dog would jump. 

Last Couple Out 

The class forms in a double file, the 
couples clasping hands. One player, who 
is selected to be ''It," stands at the head 
of the double column. He calls "Last 
Couple Out," and the last two players in 
the column must unclasp hands and run, 
each on his own side of the column, and 
try to reclasp hands somewhere in front of 
96 



PLAY 

the "It" without being tagged by him. 
The "It" must not look around when he 
calls "Last Couple Out" until the two 
players who have left their positions come 
on a line with him. He may then try to 
tag either of the two players. If he fails, 
he still remains "It." If he succeeds in 
tagging one of the two players, that one 
takes his place, and he clasps hands with 
the other and stands at the head of the 
line. 

Japanese Tag 

This makes an amusing variation of the 
old game of tag. When a player is tagged, 
he must place his left hand on the spot 
tagged, and keep it there until he has 
caught some other victim. The game 
works out in this way: the one who is 
"It" endeavors to tag a runner on the 
knee or foot, so that his efforts to tag 
any one with his hand on this part of the 
body will be awkward and amusing. 
97 



PLAY 

Cap Tag 

This game is doubtless an evolution of 
the old trick which boys have of taking a 
cap from the head of some youngster and 
throwing it from one to the other, thus 
preventing the owner from recovering it. 
The game of Cap Tag is practically the 
same scheme, with a couple of rules added 
to govern the playing. 

One boy is selected to be '*It," and a 
cap held in the hand of another boy 
designates the one whom he is expected 
to chase and tag. If the boy having the 
cap in hand is in imminent danger of 
being tagged, he may pass it to some 
other boy, who becomes the one to be 
chased. When a boy is tagged with the 
cap in hand, he becomes "It," or if he 
drops it on the ground the same penalty 
is inflicted. 



98 




^ 



I 




Horse and Rider. Page 94 




Jump the Shot. Page 95 



PLAY 



Yale Lock Tag 



This game was originated at the Yale 
University Summer School of Physical 
Training and met with some favor. The 
pupils in the class wished the game to 
have a name that would suggest in some 
measure its birthplace, and thus it became 
Yale Lock Tag. 

The players form twos with arms locked, 
and scatter over the field of play. One 
player is selected for runner and another 
for chaser. The chaser tries to tag the 
runner, who may save himself by locking 
arms with any one of a couple. This 
compels the third player to leave his 
partner and take the place of the runner, 
and the player tagged becomes the chaser. 

To make the game most interesting, 
there should be constant changes, and one 
player should not try to see how long he 
can run uncaught, but should lock arms 
with some one as soon as possible. 
99 



PLAY 

Co-ed Tag 

This game is played when there is an 
equal number of boys and girls, and the 
method of playing is similar to Yale Lock 
Tag. 

The players form in couples, each boy 
taking a girl for a partner. One boy is 
selected to be "It" and a girl is chosen 
for the runner. To save herself from 
being caught she may lock arms with any 
boy, thus compelling his partner to be- 
come a runner. When the girl is caught 
she must try to tag the boy who caught 
her or any other who is crowded off. In 
every case there is always a girl and a boy 
participating as runner and chaser 

Line Tag (Flank Tag) 

The players take a column formation 

in sixes, sevens, eights, or more, as the 

case may be. Each line stands directly 

behind the one in front, with a space of 

100 



PLAY 

about three feet intervening. The lines 
clasp hands, thus forming aisles between 
each two lines. A player is selected as 
the runner and another as the chaser. 
The object is for the "It" to tag the 
runner, who runs up and down the aisles. 
The teacher directs the game and every 
now and then gives the order 'Meft face" 
or "right face." When this order is given, 
all of the players in the lines will take the 
position ordered, and form new lines at 
right angles to the ones that before existed, 
clasping hands in the new direction. This 
constant changing throws the runner and 
chaser into different aisles and adds much 
to the pleasure of playing tag. When 
caught, the runner and chaser are suc- 
ceeded by two more selected by the 
instructor. 

Handkerchief Tag 

This is a game somewhat similar to 
Medicine Ball Tag ; in this game, however, 
101 



/ 



PLAY 

the player is tagged instead of the object 
carried. The one who is *'It" tries to tag 
the player who holds the handkerchief. 
The holder of the handkerchief may run to 
avoid being tagged, or may pass or throw 
the handkerchief to some other player. 
One becomes "It" by being tagged or by 
dropping the handkerchief. 

Prisoners' Base 

This is one of the oldest games, and is 
played indoors or out. Two lines about 
sixty feet apart are made on the floor from 
wall to wall at opposite ends of the gym- 
nasium. At the right of each line and 
just outside is a circle three feet in diam- [^^^ 
eter called the *' Prisoners' Base." / Abdbt 
six players on a side make the best game, 
though a greater or lesser number may 
play. The teams face each other on their 
goal lines, and the object is to accomplish 
the capture of the other by tagging while 
out in the open space between the goal 
102 




Last Couple Out. Page 96 




Japanese Tag. Page 97 



PLAY 

lines. This can only be done in a certain 
way. A player leaving his goal after any of 
his opponents have left theirs may tag 
them. The game is started in this manner: 
A player from either side runs challeng- 
ingly toward the opponents; any of the 
opponents may tag him since they will 
leave their line after he has left his, but 
when one attempts it the *' Challenger" will 
be protected by one of his team, who will 
run out and head off the pursuer. The 
game continues in this manner, the last one 
out always having the advantage. When 
a player is chased back, he touches his base 
line and then he is ready to run out again 
and tag any player in the open space. 
When a player is caught he must stand in 
the "Prisoners' Base" of his opponents. 
If any one of his team can run across and 
touch his hand, he is freed. The one who 
saved him may return to his goal. When 
there are several prisoners they join hands, 
the last one standing in the circle, the 
103 



PLAY 

others outside. One manner of playing 
allows the whole line to go free if the out- 
side one is touched by one of his own 
team, or another way allows just the end 
one to go free. The game may be played 
on a time limit, the side having the most 
prisoners when time is up wins. ^^^ "^ 

In and Out the Window 

This is one of the many circle games best 
adapted for children, but often played with 
enthusiasm by older people. The class 
forms a circle, joining hands with the 
exception of two, who take their places, 
one inside and one outside the circle. 
The child on the outside of the circle must 
catch the other, but he must follow the 
exact course of the one chased. The one 
chased will go in and out under the arms 
of the players forming the circle, which 
suggests the name of the game. When 
caught, two more are selected, and 
so on. 

104 



PLAY 

Line Interference 

Eight girls lock arms in fours. One 
girl, the runner, stands behind them ; two 
chasers are selected, who try to catch the 
runner. The lines interfere, or block the 
chasers, who try to elude the interferers 
and get through to the runner. When the 
runner is caught, she takes her place in one 
of the fours, and her catcher in the other, 
locking arms with the girl on the left. This 
crowds off two girls, one from each four, 
who become chaser and runner respec- 
tively. The other girl remains a chaser 
until she catches some one. This makes 
a game for eleven players. If there were 
two more, one could be added to each four, 
making them five. 

Cat and Mouse 

One of the most amusing of gymnasium 
or playground games is Cat and Mouse. 
A circle is formed, and the player se- 
105 



PLAY 

lected to be the mouse stands in the circle. 
Another player, the cat, stands outside. 
The object of the game is for the cat to 
catch the mouse. The circle assists the 
mouse by letting her out or in the circle 
at any time, but the cat is hindered as 
much as possible, tightly clasped hands 
forming the obstacle. When the game is 
well learned, much interest is added by 
having two cats and one mouse. This 
makes the game more amusing, as the 
mouse, if not very alert, will elude one cat, 
only to run into the arms of the other. 
The two cats in this case should be 
slower runners, and the mouse one of the 
speediest. 

Variation: Have two circles formed 
about twenty feet apart. Select two cats 
and a mouse for each circle. The mice 
may run into either circle, though the cats 
may try to catch only the mouse from their 
own circle. 



106 



PLAY 

Rabbit's Nest 

The children scatter over the playing 
space, and groups of four form circles with 
hands clasped. A single player stands 
in the center of each circle. Two other 
players are selected, one to be the rabbit 
and one the farmer's dog. The children 
are then told that the playing space is a big 
cabbage field, and that the rabbits have 
been eating the farmers' cabbages. He 
has therefore sent his dog to chase them. 
Each little circle is a ''rabbit's nest," but 
will only hold one rabbit. When the one 
lone rabbit who is without a nest runs 
into one of the nests, the rabbit already 
there must leave. When the rabbit is 
caught, the dog becomes a rabbit and the 
rabbit the dog. The game is continued 
until all of the children have had an op- 
portunity to be dog, rabbit and nest. 



107 



PLAY 

Snatch the Handkerchief 

This game is one requiring alertness and 
rapid action, and is one of the most popu- 
lar on the German playgrounds. Parallel 
lines are marked on the ground about fifty 
feet apart, and on a stick or Indian club 
half-way between is placed a handker- 
chief. The players are divided into two 
equal groups, and stand facing each other 
on the respective goal lines. At the signal 
**Go," the player on the right of each 
line runs towards the handkerchief. The 
object is to snatch the handkerchief and 
get back across the goal line without being 
tagged by the opponent. If one girl gets 
the handkerchief and succeeds in running 
to her own line without being touched, 
her opponent becomes her prisoner. If 
tagged, she becomes the prisoner of the 
other side. In every case, one or the other 
must become a prisoner, the one tagged or 
the one who fails to get the handkerchief 
108 



PLAY 

and also fails to catch the one who suc- 
ceeded. Both players are striving to do 
exactly the same thing, — get the hand- 
kerchief and return to the line untouched. 
A player should not snatch the handker- 
chief immediately upon running out, as 
her momentum would carry her into the 
hands of the enemy. They both should 
run to the stick and stop, and then try to 
get the handkerchief by cleverness. The 
game continues until every player has 
been out, and the side having the most 
prisoners wins. 

Medicine Ball Tag 

This game takes its name from the fact 
that a ball found in all gymnasiums and 
called a medicine ball is used. It may be 
made with either a canvas or leather cover 
stuffed with cotton, to weigh from three to 
twelve pounds. The weight of the ball 
used is regulated by the strength and age 
109 



PLAY 

of the players. The game is simply a 
variation of Tag. 

One of the players is selected to be the 
chaser and another carries the ball. The 
chaser tries to touch the ball. When the 
ball is touched, the player who holds it or 
held it last becomes "It." Players may 
run carrying the ball, or may save them- 
selves by throwing or passing the ball to 
some other player. The one receiving the 
ball will in her turn elude the chaser. The 
chief object is to keep the ball from the 
chaser, and all the players assist the holder 
of the ball. To make the game interest- 
ing and lively, the ball should be con- 
stantly changing hands. 

Bull in the Ring 

This is another of the old-fashioned 
games that has been part of the play ex- 
perience of nearly every boy. The play- 
ers grasp hands and form a circle. One 
player — the bull — stands in the circle. 
110 



y^^. 



fFI^ 




} ft. 




Rabbit's Nest. Page 107 




Bull is the Ring. Piuje 110 



PLAY 

He tries to break out by rushing at the 
clasped hands of the players or by dodg- 
ing under. When he breaks out, the circle 
players drop hands and run after him. 
The one catching him becomes the next 
"bull in the ring." 

Variation: In this game there is a 
"bull in the ring" and a helper outside. 
The one outside assists the bull in break- 
ing out by lifting the arms of the circle 
players or by pulling their hands apart. 
When the bull gets out, they both run 
until caught, and the two catchers take 
their places. 

The Beater Goes Around 

There is not a game that occasions more 
merriment than the game of The Beater 
Goes Around. The players form a circle, 
standing with their hands open behind 
their backs. One player, with a knotted 
towel in hand, runs around the circle rap- 
idly and places the towel in the hands of 
111 



PLAY 

a circle player. The one receiving the 
towel immediately begins beating the 
player on his right, who, to avoid punish- 
ment, must run around the circle to the 
vacant place left by the beater. The one 
who first had the towel takes the place of 
the runner in the circle. When the one 
who has been the beater has chased a victim 
around to the vacant place, he continues 
running, and places the towel in the hands 
of another player, who beats the player 
on his right. The game may continue in- 
definitely. This game is one that can be 
enjoyed by players of all ages and both 
sexes. It is a game that keeps every one 
alert, for at any moment the player on your 
left may get the towel and then he must 
run to avoid the rapidly delivered blows. 
For real fun, happily combined with good 
exercise, there are few games as good as 
*'The Beater Goes Around." 

Variation: Have two knotted towels 
or stuffed clubs and two runners. This 
112 



PLAY 

adds a great deal to the uncertainty of the 
game, and is much more interesting and 
amusing than the single game. 

Variation: In this game the knotted 
towel is placed in the center of the circle. 
The players stand facing in and pass a 
medicine ball or basket-ball from one to 
the other, trying to make the catcher drop 
it. When the catcher drops the ball, he 
must pick it up and run around the circle 
to his place. The thrower of the ball who 
made him miss runs to the center of the 
circle and picks up the towel, breaks 
through the circle in back of the runner 
with the ball, and beats him until he has 
reached his place. 

Double Tag 

This game has been played successfully, 
and with seemingly the same degree of 
pleasure, by primary school children and 
University students. It has the same ob- 
ject as the simple game of Tag, familiar 
113 



PLAY 

to every one. The players form in couples. 
One couple is "It," and tries to catch, and 
touch or tag, one of the other couples. The 
two touched become "It." The chasers 
must keep their arms locked, and so must 
the ones chased. If the two who are ''It" 
break apart, they cannot tag any one until 
their arms are locked again. If any two 
in attempting to escape break apart, they 
become "It " as a penalty. 

Variation: The game can be made 
triple tag instead of double tag by having 
the players lock arms in threes, or quad- 
ruple by having them lock arms in fours. 

The Game of Three Deep 

This game is simply our old-fashioned 
Tag elaborated. The players, grouped in 
couples (one player behind another), form 
a large circle, facing in. One player is 
selected as a runner, and another is " It," 
or the chaser. The chaser attempts to 
tag or touch the runner, who endeavors to 
114 




The Beater Goes Around. Page 111 




Double Tag. Page 113 




Straddle Ball Race. Page 118 




Leap Frog. Page 122 



PLAY 

escape by dodging in and out the circle. If 
the runner is not immediately caught, but 
is in imminent danger, he may save him- 
self by standing in front of any couple, 
making ''three deep." This crowds off 
the rear player of the original couple, who 
immediately becomes the runner and is 
chased until caught, or until he saves him- 
self by standing in front of some two, 
making it *' three deep," and crowding off 
another player. When the chaser catches 
a runner, the runner becomes chaser, and 
the former chaser becomes a runner. As 
a game it renews the interest in Tag, be- 
cause of its many superior points, and 
then, instead of being a game for the few 
fleet of foot, it becomes a game that gives 
every player a chance. The uncertainty 
and the many rapid changes keep every 
player alert. 

Variation : Instead of having one chaser 
and one runner, the game is played with 
two chasers and two runners, or even more 
115 



PLAY 

when the game is well understood and the 
number of players is large. 

Variation : The formation in this vari- 
ation is just the same as in the ordinary 
game of Three Deep, except that the twos 
stand facing each other grasping hands. 
The runner in eluding the chaser may 
dodge under the arms of any two, grasp- 
ing one of them by the hands, thus crowd- 
ing off the one to whom his back is turned, 
who becomes the runner. 

Hang Tag 

A splendid game in a gymnasium or 
playground with overhead apparatus, such 
as rings, ladders and bars. 

The game is played as the simple game 
of Tag, with this exception: When a 
player is hanging by his hands or arms 
from a piece of apparatus so that his feet 
do not touch the ground, he cannot be 
tagged. To make the game more lively, 
the chaser has the privilege of standing 
116 



PLAY 

ten feet from any player and calling out 
"All change." When this signal is given, 
the players must leave the apparatus they 
are hanging on and go to some other. 
Only one player can occupy any one piece 
of apparatus; any player can hang on a 
piece of apparatus already occupied, thus 
crowding off its former occupant, who 
must seek a new place. 

RACING GAMES 

Potato Race 

Ten potatoes or blocks of wood or dumb- 
bells are placed five feet apart in rows from 
the starting line. At the signal "Go," the 
racers (one runner for each row of pota- 
toes) run from the starting line and pick 
up the potatoes one at a time, then re- 
turning place them in a box or basket back 
of the startjing line. The one getting all 
of his potatoes into his box first wins. 



117 



PLAY 

Straddle Ball Race 

If there are twenty players in the class, 
two lines of ten each may be formed, each 
player standing directly behind the one in 
front with feet well apart. The first one 
in each line has a medicine or basket ball. 
At the signal "Go," he throws it between 
his own feet down the line between the 
widespread feet of all of his players. 
The last one in the line picks up the ball 
and runs to the head of the line and re- 
peats. When every player in the line has 
done this, one after the other, and the first 
player is again at the head, the race ends. 
More players may be used by adding to 
each line or having more lines. 

Indian Club Straddle Race 

The formation is just the same as in 
Straddle Ball Race, with the added fea- 
ture of having as many clubs to pass as 
there are players in line. At the signal 
118 



PLAY 

''Go," the clubs are started back between 
the legs of the players. When the jfirst 
club is received by the last player, he runs 
up and places it on a mark made ten 
feet in advance of the first player in his 
line. He then runs to the head of the 
line and starts the second club. The next 
player brings the second club, and so on. 
The race ends when all of the clubs of 
one line have been placed standing on the 
mark. 

Indian Club Race 

Forty feet from the starting line, on 
another line, may be placed four Indian 
clubs for each runner. The object is to 
bring the Indian clubs one at a time back 
to the starting line and stand them up. 
The first one having all of his clubs stand- 
ing on the starting line wins. 

Variation: The arrangement of the 
clubs may be the same as in the Potato 
Race. 

119 



PLAY 

Human Burden Race 

This is a game similar to Indian Club 
Race, except that the players are carried 
instead of clubs. Four players stand fac- 
ing the racer for each team, on a line 
forty feet away. When the race is started 
the racer runs across the space, picks up 
one of his team and carries him back to 
the starting line. The one carried across 
then runs and gets the second one, who 
must return and carry the third player. 
This continues until all of one team have 
been carried back to the starting line, the 
team finishing first winning the race. 

Obstacle Race 

Considerable amusement may be had in 
an obstacle race where the class is not too 
large. Parallel bars, horses, vaulting bars, 
etc., may be placed as obstacles. The 
course is laid out and the race is run in 
120 



PLAY 

heats of two, three or four runners. The 
winners of each heat meet in a final. 

Variation: Have as many barrels with 
open ends as there are contestants in the 
race. Place them on a line the desired dis- 
tance from the starting point. As the sec- 
ond obstacle, cover the parallel bars with 
mats, making what is known in gymna- 
sium parlance as "the elephant." Some 
distance beyond "the elephant " place as 
many candles as there are runners, with 
a plentiful supply of matches, especially 
if played outdoors. Each runner must 
go through a barrel, over the elephant, 
light a candle, and finish with the lighted 
candle in hand. If played outdoors, the 
course may be in a straight line, but in 
the gymnasium a circular course may be 
planned. 

Chariot Pursuit Race 

A small race-course is marked off on 
the floor by placing four chairs or other 
121 



PLAY 

objects to make the corner boundaries of 
a hollow square. At one corner on the 
outside from five to ten players stand, 
with arms locked. Diagonally opposite, 
the same number of players stand facing 
the same way. At the signal "Go," the 
race starts — each team pursuing the other 
around the course. The team overtak- 
ing wins, or if the race is run in a num- 
ber of laps, the team that has gained on 
the other wins. A heavy player should be 
the pivot of each line. This is a good 
race to have at an exhibition, and the 
unwieldy line swinging around the small 
arena is very suggestive of a chariot race. 

Leap Frog Race 

Every one is familiar with the ordinary 
game of "Leap Frog," where boys form 
in a line a couple of feet apart, with hands 
on knees, and the last one goes down the 
line by vaulting over the backs of each 
boy. Arriving at the front of the line he 
122 



PLAY 

takes the same position as the others; the 
next boy follows, and so on, until each 
player has vaulted over every other. In- 
terest may be added by making a race the 
feature of the game. Two or more lines 
form in Leap Frog position, and at the 
word "Go," start. The line finishing 
first wins. 

Variation : The lines may form at one 
end of the gymnasium and leap frog to the 
other end, — the row of boys first crossing 
a line marked there, winning. If played 
outdoors, the distance for ten boys to go 
could be about one hundred and fifty feet. 

Wheelbarrow Race 

The racers arrange themselves in twos 
at the starting line. One, the wheelbar- 
row, puts his hands on the floor and the 
other lifts the wheelbarrow's feet. At the 
signal *'Go," the teams start in this posi- 
tion for a line forty feet away. The first 
crossing the line wins. 
123 



PLAY 

Variation: The start is made in the 
same way, but the race is twice as far, — 
down and back. At the turn the players 
change positions; the runners become 
wheelbarrows and the wheelbarrows run- 
ners. The first team getting back to the 
starting line wins the race. 

Knapsack Race 

One player, the knapsack, sits astride 
the shoulders or back of a runner. As 
many runners and knapsacks as conven- 
ient can be used in a single race. The 
course can be to a line fifty or sixty feet 
away, where the players change and re- 
turn, with the former knapsack carrying 
the runners. The team crossing the start- 
ing line first wins. 

Medicine Ball Pursuit Race 

The players are divided into two equal 
lines, and stand facing each other, about 
124 



PLAY 

thirty feet apart, forming a hollow square. 
The first man at the right end of each line, 
at the signal "Go," starts on a run around 
the square, carrying a medicine ball. It 
is a relay pursuit race, and the runner of 
each line tries to overtake the runner of 
the other. As soon as a man gets to the 
point from which he started he hands 
the ball to the next in line, who continues 
the pursuit. The first runner takes his 
place at the foot of the line. The race 
continues until a runner of one side over- 
takes a runner of the other and tags him 
with the medicine ball. A good way of 
arranging the course is to make the corners 
by driving stakes; if played in a gym- 
nasium, a piece of apparatus, a mat or 
chair should be placed at each corner. 

Daddy on the Castle 

This is a simple game that is much 
enjoyed by little tots. A gymnasium mat 
or a rug or a space marked on the floor is 
125 



PLAY 

called the castle. One of the players is 
Daddy. The children run on to different 
parts of the castle and call out the chal- 
lenge to Daddy: "Daddy, I'm on your 
castle." If Daddy catches any one while 
on the castle, the one caught becomes 
Daddy. 

Hill Dill 

This is a game very much enjoyed by 
young players. The entire class stands 
against the wall at one end of the gymna- 
sium or on lines marked on jfloor. One 
player stands in the center and calls out, 
'*Hill Dill, come over my hill," and the 
players try to run across to the other wall 
or line. If they reach it without being 
touched they are safe, but all who are 
tagged remain in the center, and as the 
Captain calls out **Hill Dill" they assist 
in catching the rest of the players. The 
game continues until all are caught, and 
the first one captured is the one to remain 
in the center next time. 
126 



PLAY 

Variation: As soon as a player is 
caught he joins hands with the leader, 
making a chain, and each player captured 
forms a link of the chain. The captures 
must be made with the line intact. 

The Snake and the Birds 

This game appeals to the imagination 
of the children. Half of the players — 
usually the boys — are formed in a line 
with arms locked. The girls are told 
that they are birds, and that the line of 
boys is a snake that will try and catch 
them. If there are more than ten boys 
it is better to have two snakes — a big 
snake and a little one. The largest boy 
in each line is the head and the smallest 
is the tail. The object of the game is that 
the line of boys shall encircle any of the 
girls that it can catch. The boys must 
keep their line intact. As soon as a bird 
is caught, she is sent to a tree or stone or 
bush selected for that purpose, and there 
127 



PLAY 

she must remain a prisoner until the other 
little birds are caught. It is not such an 
easy matter as may be supposed for an 
unwieldy line of boys to catch active girls, 
so the players are restricted to certain 
territory. If an antipathy for our good 
friend the snake is felt, the teacher can 
give the line of boys a name of some animal 
of pleasanter suggestion. 

Black and White (Day and Night) 

This is a running and catching game 
much enjoyed by children of primary and 
grammar school age. A disk of wood or 
pasteboard, painted white on one side and 
black on the other, is tossed up between 
two teams of players who have been 
designated as the Blacks and the Whites. 
If the disk falls black side up, the blacks 
run for their goal — a line drawn across 
the floor in back of them. The Whites 
try to catch the Blacks by tagging as many 
as they can before the safety goal is 
128 




Medicine Ball Pursuit Race. Page 124 




The Snake and the Birds. Page 127 




Advancing Statues. Page 130 



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Peggy in the Ring. Paqe 134 



PLAY 

reached. All caught are prisoners and 
must drop out until the game is finished. 
Of course, if the disk comes down white 
side up, the Whites run and the Blacks 
chase. The game is splendid for making 
pupils alert, for it is not decided, until the 
disk falls, whether they are to be chasers 
or are to escape. 

Pussy in the Corner 

This game, so familiar to all children, 
hardly needs description, but it can be 
used with so much pleasure either out- 
doors or in the gymnasium that a book 
of games would not be complete without 
it. If played outdoors, trees, posts and 
corners of the house may be used. If 
played in the gymnasium, pieces of ap- 
paratus may be scattered around and 
used for corners. Each corner should be 
twenty or more feet from any other. There 
should be one more player than there are 
corners. The occupants of the corners 
129 



PLAY 

call out to each other *' Pussy wants a 
corner," and the players try to change 
corners so rapidly that the "It " cannot 
get to one of the unoccupied corners. If 
the **It " does get to a corner before one 
of the pussies running toward it, that 
pussy becomes *'It." To enliven the 
game, the *'It " may go to a point twenty- 
five feet from any corner, and call "All 
change." All of the pussies must then 
change, and the "It " has a better chance 
of getting a corner. If played on the 
playground where there are no trees or 
apparatus, the teacher may make circles 
three feet in diameter for the corners, 
and a square of the same size where the 
"It " can call "All change." 

Advancing Statues 

This is a splendid game to teach chil- 
dren balance and control. The children 
are first told what a statue is, and that in 
the game to be played they are to be 
130 



PLAY 

live children when the teacher's back is 
turned, but motionless statues when his 
eye is on them. They are to start all to- 
gether from a line about thirty feet from 
the teacher, and the first one crossing the 
line on which the teacher stands will be 
the winner. They may advance when his 
back is turned, but as soon as he faces 
them they must not move hand or foot, 
or head or body. They are statues. 
When they have lined up, the teacher 
stands on the opposite line, with his back 
turned, pounding with a stick, and count- 
ing aloud. Occasionally he turns rap- 
idly, and any child detected in motion is 
pointed at and must return to the line and 
start again. The teacher does not turn at 
regular intervals, but uses every artifice 
to catch the children, sometimes counting 
slowly and turning unexpectedly, or turn- 
ing instantly on the first count, or several 
times in rapid succession. 

Variation: Have all the boys at one 

131 



PLAY 

end of the gymnasium and all the girls 
at the other. The teacher stands in the 
center with his staff, and while counting 
and facing the boys the girls advance; 
when he turns, the boys advance. The 
child first crossing the center line wins 
for his team. This makes the game com- 
petitive, and adds much to the interest. 

Blow the Feather 

This is a game for little ones. If there 
are thirty in the class, they are divided 
into circles of ten each. A light feather 
is thrown above each circle, and the circle 
keeping its feather in the air longest by 
blowing wins. They do not have to keep 
the circle formation, but may chase the 
feather wherever it goes. 

Blowing Ball Race 

A ping-pong ball is furnished each 
competitor. A race-course may be laid 
out on the floor by placing Indian clubs 
132 



PLAY 

at intervals, or by marking with chalk. 
The balls are placed on the floor at the 
starting point, and each competitor must 
try to make the circuit of the course by 
blowing his ball along the floor. He 
must not touch the ball with hand or 
body. The player driving the ball around 
the course and across the finish line first 
wins. 

Boston 

This is an amusing parlor game, and 
may be used on the playground or in the 
gymnasium. Chairs are placed in a circle 
or in two lines facing, about seven or eight 
feet apart. The players are all numbered 
from one up. If there are boys and girls 
in the game, the boys have the odd and 
the girls the even numbers. One player 
stands in the center blindfolded, and calls 
out two numbers — an odd and an even. 
The players numbered must try to change 
seats without being caught by the "It." 
133 



PLAY 

The one caught becomes '*It." Occasion- 
ally the ''It " calls out "Boston," and then 
every player must change with some other. 
When "It " calls numbers he tries to 
catch one of the players changing, but 
when he calls "Boston " he tries to get 
a seat. 

Peggy in the Ring 

The children form a circle with clasped 
hands around one of their number, who 
stands blindfolded in the center with a 
staff in hand. The circle dances around 
Peggy, while she pounds the floor deliber- 
ately with the staff. On the third beat 
they must all stand still. Peggy then 
points with the staff, and the one pointed 
at must grasp it. Peggy may ask three 
questions, and the replies may be grunts. 
If the name of the one replying is 
guessed she must become the Peggy in 
the Ring. 



134 



PLAY 

Bell Cat 

This is one of the many circle games 
that little tots delight in. The players 
form a circle, clasping hands. One is 
selected as the Bell Cat, and one as the 
chaser. The chaser is blindfolded and 
the Bell Cat has a bell tied around her 
neck or carried in the hand. The blind- 
folded player tries to catch the Bell Cat, 
guided by the sound of the bell. When 
successful, two more players are selected. 

Variation: If the circle is large, two 
chasers and one Bell Cat may be selected 
to play the game. In this case it is wise 
to direct the children who are blindfolded 
and doing the chasing to keep their arms 
extended in front of them, thus avoiding 
the possibility of bumping together. When 
the Bell Cat is caught, the successful 
chaser becomes the Bell Cat, and the other 
must remain a chaser until successful. 



135 



PLAY 

Blind Man's Biff 

Great fun may be had in this game. 
Two, four or six players may be matched 
and fitted with boxing-gloves. A bUnd is 
placed over their eyes. Each boxer has a 
guardian to keep him from colliding with 
wall or apparatus. When ready to start, 
the boxers are placed facing each other, 
and then each guardian turns his man 
around three times and the boxing begins. 
It is very ludicrous to watch, as the boxers 
cannot see and can only judge by sound. 
They wildly smash the air and cautiously 
guard blows that fall ten feet short. Occa- 
sionally they " soak " the guardians. It is 
a good feature for exhibition. 

Blind Man's Buff 

A player is selected to be blindfolded. 

He must try to catch some player, who 

in turn becomes the blind man. The 

players are restricted to a limited terri- 

136 



PLAY 

tory, and to make it less difficult the 
blind man may at any time call out *'A11 
still." The players must then stand per- 
fectly still, while the blind man advances 
three steps in any direction. If he does 
not catch any one in three steps, they may 
start running again. 

Circle Blind Man's Buff 

This variation of Blind Man's BuflF adds 
a feature to this old classic game that 
makes it more interesting. 

The players form a circle, clasp hands, 
and one stands in the center blindfolded, 
and as in the original games tries to catch 
one of the players. Those in the circle try 
to avoid being caught, but must not un- 
clasp their hands to escape. As the one 
who is ''It " runs toward one side of the 
circle trying to catch a player, that side 
of the circle retreats, and the players 
forming the circle back of the one who is 
137 



PLAY 

"It " advance, to give the retreating ones 
a chance for escape. If the one bhnd- 
f olded attempts to catch some other player, 
the opposite side of the circle advances, 
and the side that was advancing retreats. 
The object is for the players in the circle 
to co-operate in keeping the circle intact, 
and to assist the players who may at any 
time be chased by the blindfolded "It." 
If, in endeavoring to escape, any of the 
players unclasp hands, the player to the 
right of the break in the line becomes 
"It." 

This is a good game to play in the gym- 
nasium or indoors, where it is possible for 
the one who is blindfolded to run into 
apparatus or furniture, as the circle pro- 
tects the one who is blindfolded. It 
changes the old form of Blind Man's Buff 
from an individual game to a team game, 
and the co-operation of the players in the 
circle adds to its interest. 



138 



PLAY 

Drop the Handkerchief 

This is one of the best known of chil- 
dren's games. The players form a circle, 
and one of them is selected to "drop the 
handkerchief." He runs around outside 
the circle and drops it behind some player, 
who picks it up and tries to catch him 
before he gets to the space left vacant by 
the chaser. If caught, he runs around 
again and drops the handkerchief. If 
not caught, the one who has the handker- 
chief runs around and drops it behind 
some other player. 

Good Morning 

This game is a variation of Drop the 
Handkerchief. The runner does not 
drop a handkerchief, however, but taps 
on the back some player, who must turn 
and run around the circle in the opposite 
direction. When the two runners meet, 
they must stop, make a deep bow or 
139 



PLAY 

curtsey, and say "Good morning." They 
then continue running, each trying to get 
to the space left vacant by the one tapped. 
The one who is left continues the game by 
running around and touching some other 
player. The game may be varied by 
having the two who meet shake hands, 
or catch hold of hands and swing once 
around, or any other simple movement 
that the ingenuity of the teacher may 
suggest. 

Tournament 

Tournament is a pretty game to play at 
a juvenile exhibition. There may be three 
or four knights on a side. Each knight 
should be a rather small boy, and he se- 
lects a large boy for his horse. The knight 
is armed with a wand for a lance, well 
padded at the end. He wears a plumed 
paper helmet to give him the true knightly 
appearance. The rival knights and their 
horses are stationed at opposite ends of 
140 



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Good Morning." Page 139 




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Chain Tug of War. Page 146 



PLAY 

the arena. (Their colors should be dif- 
ferent.) 

A boy who can play a bugle call should 
ride out gayly caparisoned, and open the 
knightly games by tooting a salute to the 
audience. As he retires, the eight knights 
should gallop toward and pass each other, 
and swing into line and salute the audi- 
ence. They should then wheel and gallop 
back half-way; then turn and advance, 
and the battle commences. It is the ob- 
ject of each little knight to select an 
adversary, and to try and dismount him 
by pushing with the padded lance. The 
battle continues until one army is de- 
feated — the horses and riders of the 
vanquished retiring as soon as conquered. 
The bugler gallops out and hands a ban- 
ner to one of the survivors of the winning 
side (and there may be only one), who 
gallops around the arena and out to the 
triumphant music of the bugle. The 
tournament can be made as spectacu- 
141 



PLAY 

lar as the imagination of the teacher 
permits. 

Fox AND Chickens 

Fox and Chickens is one of the most 
amusing of recreative games. While it 
affords much vigorous exercise, it is a 
game that is all fun. A line of players 
forms, each one with arms clasped around 
the waist of the one in front. The first 
girl is the hen, and it is her duty to pro- 
tect the line of chickens that cling to her. 
One of the players is the fox, and it is the 
object of the fox to catch the chickens, 
one at a time. The last chicken in the 
line must be caught first, and it is only 
necessary for the fox to touch the chicken 
to effect a capture. The first girl in the 
line, the hen, with outstretched arms, like 
the wings of a real protecting bird-mother, 
attempts to keep continually in front of 
the fox, who, with every artifice of that 
crafty animal, attempts to break past by 
U2 



PLAY 

dodging and fleetness of foot. When all 
of the chickens are caught the game ends. 
There is one rule, and that is that the line 
of chickens must remain intact. If, in 
whirling around to escape, any player 
loses her hold on the player in front, that 
player and all back of her become pris- 
oners of the fox. The fox should be the 
speediest runner, rapid in action and 
clever in dodging. 

Line Tug 

This is a game that is played in many 
parts of the world. It is the simplest of 
fighting games, and requires merely a line 
painted on the floor, marked with chalk or 
scratched on the turf. The players, evenly 
divided, face each other on opposite sides 
of the line and try to pull each other 
across. The result is a number of little 
individual ''tugs of war," though occa- 
sionally two players will grab one and 
drag him across the line. When a player 
143 



PLAY 

is dragged across the line, he turns and 
assists his captors in pulling the others of 
his team across. 

Ditch Tug 

This is a variation of Line Tug, and 
offers more interesting features. Two 
parallel lines about five feet apart mark 
the boundaries of the ditch, or, if played 
in the gymnasium, a mat may be used to 
make the ditch. The teams face each 
other as in Line Tug, and the object is to 
pull one of the opposing team across the 
ditch. When a player is pulled across, he 
drops out. The game continues until all 
of one team are exterminated. 

War 

This is an elaboration of the last two 
games, and is about the most strenuous 
game that can be played. If played out- 
doors, lines are drawn about fifty or a 
144 




Indian Club Wrestle, or Poison Stick. Page 145 




Indian Club Wrestle, or Poison Stick. Page 145 




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PLAY 

hundred feet apart, or, if played in the 
gymnasium, a line of mats is stretched 
across at each end. At the signal, both 
teams rush out into the field and, by any 
manoeuvering that either skill or strength 
dictates, try to capture as many of the 
enemy as possible, dragging the captives 
to the line or mats. The game continues 
until all of one side is captured. It is war 
to extermination. 

Poison Stick, or Indian Club Wrestle 

Four or more Indian clubs are placed on 
the ground. The players join hands and 
form a circle around them. By pulling 
and pushing, each player in the circle 
tries to make some other player knock a 
club down by tripping or hitting against 
it. A player who knocks a club down re- 
places it and drops out. The game con- 
tinues until only one is left. 



145 



J 



PLAY 

Chain Tug of War 



The two teams form chains by grasp- 
ing each other around the waist. The 
two leaders grasp a stick that they hold 
in a horizontal position parallel to a line 
on the ground, until the signal to start is 
given. At the signal "Go," the two teams 
pull until all of the players of one side are 
pulled across the line. 



INDIVIDUAL GAMES 

Wand Wrestling 

The contestants take hold of a wand 
or stick — right-hand palm up and left- 
hand palm down. The object is to twist 
the wand away from the opponent. 

Hand Wrestling 

Two players face each other and grasp 
right hands. By twisting and quick jerks, 
146 



PLAY 

one tries to make the other move one of 
his feet. Lifting a foot from place means 
a loss. 

Indian Wrestling 

Two players lie on their backs on the 
mat with arms locked and feet in opposite 
directions. On the count "one" they 
raise inside leg and touch toes, on count 
"two" they repeat same, on count "three" 
they raise legs and lock at knees. The 
object is to struggle in that position and 
attempt to roll the opponent over back- 
ward. 

Bar Pull 

Two players sit on the ground facing 
each other with the soles of their feet 
touching. With legs and arms extended 
they grip a wand. At the signal to start 
they pull, and the one succeeding in 
pulling the other to a standing position 
wins. 

147 



PLAY 

Sparrow Fight 

Two players sit on the floor facing each 
other with a wand passed under knees and 
in bend of elbows, and with the hands 
clasped across shins. The object is to 
keep this position, and try to tip the other 
over by getting a foot under the foot of 
the opponent and lifting with that lever- 
age. The player unclasping hands or 
overbalancing loses. 

Chicken Fight 

A circle seven to ten feet in diameter 
may be used, or a gymnasium mat. Two 
players stand on opposite sides of the 
circle on one foot with arms folded. The 
object is to bump each other until one is 
compelled to touch the raised foot to the 
floor, or is bumped out of the circle. The 
one touching foot to floor, unfolding arms, 
or pushed out of circle, loses. 
148 



PLAY 

Horseback Wrestling 

Two wrestlers sit upon the shoulders of 
boy horses. If played indoors it is best to 
have mats spread out for the contest. The 
object is to overbalance the opponent and 
make him dismount. 



SCHOOLROOM GAMES 

One of the difficult problems in play is 
to find some form of vigorous recreative 
activity suitable for the schoolroom. The 
following games I arranged some years 
ago, and introduced in the preparatory 
department of the Plattsburgh State Nor- 
mal School. The games are all played 
with the same general object, but are 
varied to suit the age and mental ability 
of different grades of pupils. They will 
be described as graded, beginning with 
the game for the youngest primary class. 
149 



PLAY 



Mark Game 



There should be an equal number of 
pupils in each row, and there should be 
a space marked on a blackboard directly 
in front of each row, with a piece of chalk 
in front of each space. Each space should 
be numbered, so that no mistake can be 
made; for instance, if there are five rows, 
row Number One should be facing space 
Number One. Everything should be 
made perfectly clear before the game 
starts. The game is simple and in the 
nature of a race. When the teacher says 
"'Go," the last child in each row will run 
down his aisle on the right, and make a 
mark on the board in his space. He runs 
back to his seat, and the next child runs 
to the board and makes a mark; and so 
on, until each child has made a mark in 
his row's space on the board. The row 
finishing first wins. It is a rule of the 
game that a child must not leave his seat 
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until the child preceding him has passed 
him in returning. 

Word Game 

This is a variation of the same game. 
The child, instead of making a mark on 
the board, writes a word, — cat, dog, 
mouse or any simple word, or may write 
any word he wishes of one syllable. The 
second race may require each child to 
write a word of two syllables, and so on, 
until the limit of polysyllabic words is 
reached 

Name Game 

This is a variation of the games' pro- 
gression. Each child writes his own 
name in the space. 

Picture Game 

This adds a little to the difficulty, and 
much to the amusement of the play. The 
teacher makes a simple picture of a man, 
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— just a round head, round body, straight 
legs and arms. Each child must draw a 
similar picture in his space. Other pic- 
tures can be used, and credit should be 
given for the best pictures, as well as for 
rapidity of execution. 

Sentence Game 

This variation is somewhat more com- 
plicated, and calls upon the ingenuity of 
the pupils. The upper granimar and high 
school grades get considerable fun out of 
this variation. The last child in the row 
is told to think of some sentence with as 
many words as there are pupils in his row. 
At the signal ''Go," he runs to the board 
and writes the first word of his sentence 
there. The next player adds a word that 
could be part of a complete sentence, and 
the next another, and so on. If the sen- 
tence cannot be completed with one word, 
when the last child goes to the board he 
must add enough words to complete it. 
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To win, the sentence must be complete, 
legible and grammatical. Of course the 
completed sentence is never the one that 
the first child had in mind. 

Number Game 

In this game the first child places on the 
board a number of four digits. The next 
child places directly under it another 
number, and so on. The last child must 
draw a line and add the column. The 
first finishing correctly wins. 

Paper Passing 

The first child in each row is given a 
piece of paper crushed into a ball. At 
the signal "Go," he passes it back with 
his left hand to the next child, who re- 
ceives it in his left hand and it is passed 
in this way to the end of the row. The 
last child changes to the right hand, and 
the paper comes back on the right. The 
row getting the piece of paper around first 
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wins. Bean-bags, balls or caps may be 
used. 

To vary the game, several paper balls 
may be passed by each row, and the row 
getting all of the paper balls around the 
circuit and back to the leader wins. 

Flag Race 

Half of the pupils in the room stand in 
the first row facing the front of the room; 
the other half stand in the last row facing 
the back of the room. This makes an equal 
distance between the two line leaders in 
either direction around the room. Each 
leader has a flag or a cap or a handker- 
chief in his hand. At the signal **Go," 
each leader starts running to the left 
around the room. Each leader is thus 
pursuing the other. When the runner 
gets back to his own row, he hands the 
flag to the next in line, who continues the 
pursuit. He then steps into the vacant 
aisle next to his team, and takes his place 
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at the foot of his line. The race continues 
— each runner making one circuit of the 
room until every child has taken part in 
the relay. The team which has gained the 
most on the other wins the race, or the 
race may be continued until a runner of 
one team has caught a runner on the other. 

Last One Out 

This game is played one row at a time. 
All of the children in one row stand, and 
one more child joins them, so that there 
is one more child than there are seats in 
the row. They start running around the 
row of seats. When the teacher claps his 
hands they all try to get a seat. The one 
failing makes the odd one when the next 
row runs. 

GAMES IN THE WATER 

One of the most popular places in the 
modern gymnasium is the natatorium. In 
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addition to the swimming and diving, 
there are a number of games that enliven 
the hour spent in the water. 

The best known of these games is water 
polo, and this is played by representative 
teams from most of the prominent col- 
leges and many athletic clubs. It is a 
game requiring great endurance and spe- 
cial training, and should only be played 
by a few at one time. The official rules 
and ball can be procured from any ath- 
letic supply house. The following games 
are purely recreative and may be played 
without special training. 

Water Tag 

This is played just as the simple game 
of tag. The players are permitted to run 
around the edge of the tank, and they can 
elude the pursuer by diving in and 
climbing out and by swimming under 
water. 

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Pull Away 

This is a splendid game for a few play- 
ers, — five to eight make a good number. 
All of the players except one, the "It," 
line up on one side of the tank in the 
water, hanging on to the side. The "It" 
is on the opposite side in the water. He 
calls out "Pull away," and then the 
players leave the side and try to get across 
the tank without being tagged. They 
do not all leave at the same time, but 
may drop off under water one at a time. 
The "It" must not tag a man until he 
has left his side of the tank or has disap- 
peared under the water. It is an under- 
water game, as it would be impossible to 
cross over on the surface without being 
caught. When a player drops down out 
of sight, the "It" immediately starts for 
him. This gives the others an easy pas- 
sage across, though a good under-water 
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man will not take this advantage, pre- 
ferring the excitement of being chased. 

All caught line up with "It" on the 
opposite side of the tank and help catch 
the rest when they pull away. A clever 
under-water man will sometimes get across 
several times with all the men after him 
before being caught. This is a game for 
a good swimmer, and once tried will be 
found fascinating. 

Keep the Ball 

The men divide into two teams and use 
a water polo, basket or tennis ball. The 
object is to keep the ball by throwing it to 
men of your own side. 

Water Push Ball 

A basket-ball or association football is 
placed in the center of the tank. The 
men, divided into teams, line up at op- 
posite ends of the tank. At the signal 
"Go," they plunge into the water and 
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swim toward the ball. The object is to 
push the ball down the field of play and 
make it touch the wall at the opponents' 
end of the tank. Only one hand should 
be used in pushing the ball. The ball 
must not be grasped by both hands, but 
may be pushed with the hands alternately. 
Ducking, tackling, and using two hands 
at the same time are fouls. When a foul 
is made, the ball is given to the opposite 
side, five feet nearer the opponents' goal 
than the point where the foul was made. 
All of the opponents must in this case 
form at least five feet in front of the ball. 
Pushing the ball against the wall is a goal, 
and each goal counts one point. 

A ball twice as large as a basket-ball, 
specially made, makes this a better game. 

Water Basket-Ball 

Two peach or bushel baskets are hung 
five feet above the water forty feet apart. 
The game is played similarly to basket- 
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ball, except that the players are allowed to 
advance with the ball. Tackling and 
ducking are fouls, and penalized by al- 
lowing a free throw for goal from a point 
fifteen feet away. There is no out of 
bounds, and a basket may be thrown from 
any place in the water. A field goal counts 
two points, and a goal from a foul one 
point. 

Water Tug of War 

A long heavy rope is used, and as many 
players as can take hold of it. The team 
gaining the most rope in a one-minute 
pull wins. 

Find the Plate 

Two teams line up on opposite sides of 
the tank. One team have their backs 
turned to the water. The Captain of the 
opposite side throws a tin pie-plate into 
the water and calls ** Ready." The first 
man on the opposite side turns and dives 
for the plate. If he comes up without it, 
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a point is counted for the team throwing 
the plate. He continues diving until he 
gets it, each failure adding a point to the 
score of the opposite side. When he gets 
it, his opponents turn their backs; he 
throws the plate into the water, and their 
first man turns and dives. The game is 
continued until every man has been down 
and brought up the plate, and the team 
having the most failures loses. The plate 
must be thrown in a certain limited space, 
and the diver must make his first dive the 
instant he turns. 

Find the Coin 

This is the same game played with a 
coin, and with the players facing each 
other and watching where it is thrown. 

BASKET-BALL FOR WOMEN 

Little did James Naismith think when, 
in 1892, he nailed a couple of peach bas- 
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kets on the walls of the gymnasium of 
the Y. M. C. A. Training School at Spring- 
field, Massachusetts, and urged a few of 
the students to try his new game, that he 
was introducing a method of play that 
would interest thousands in physical edu- 
cation. Nor did he know with what en- 
thusiasm it would be received by the many 
directors of women's gymnasiums. It 
filled a want in the physical training of 
women, the desire for a new game that 
would hold the interest and develop the 
same qualities in women that baseball 
and football developed in men. Foot- 
ball was too rough, and baseball required 
a preparation so long that interest lagged 
before any excellence could be attained, 
but basket-ball was different. It had the 
speed of football with all of the roughness 
eliminated, and scientific possibilities sim- 
ilar to those in baseball, with the great 
advantage that the rudiments of the game 
could be grasped the very first day of play, 
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and the fun of the game could be enjoyed 
at the start. 

The object of the game is simple. Two 
teams meet in a court about eighty feet 
long and forty feet wide. At each end of 
the field of play there is a post on which 
is suspended, ten feet from the ground, 
an iron ring and net called the ''basket" 
or ''goal." The goal is backed by a 
screen six feet square. The object of the 
game is to throw an inflated ball about 
the size of an old-style football into the 
basket. Every time the ball is thrown 
into the basket two points are counted 
for the team making the goal. The game 
is played in two halves of fifteen minutes 
each, with a ten-minute rest between, the 
actual playing time being thirty minutes, 
which, with the rest, makes a game of 
forty minutes. The team having the 
largest final score wins. Should the game 
result in a tie, it is continued until one 
side makes two points. In brief, that is 
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the plan and object of the game when 
played for recreation, but the match game, 
played according to rules, is a more com- 
plicated event. Most match games are 
played with five girls on a side, — two for- 
wards or goal throwers, one center and 
two guards. In some schools as many 
as nine players are used, but the prettiest 
game is played with five on a side. The 
field is divided into three equal sections. 
In one section the two forwards or goal 
throwers are located, with the two guards 
of the opposing team. The middle section 
is the territory of the centers, and in the 
other section are the two guards and the 
forwards they are to oppose. The duty 
of the forwards is to throw goals ; of the 
center, to keep the ball from going into 
the territory of her opposing forwards, and 
to get the ball to her own goal throwers. 
The guards try to prevent the forwards 
from getting the ball and, most important 
of all, prevent goals being made. Fouls 
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in the game are penalized and are as fol- 
lows: It is a foul to step across the Hne 
that restricts the territory of any player, 
and to make any progress by running or 
walking while the ball is held ; rough play, 
knocking the ball out of the hands of a 
player, and holding the ball more than 
three seconds are also fouls. When a foul 
is made, the umpire blows a whistle, which 
stops the play. He then gives the ball to 
the other side, and one of the team will 
try "a free throw for goal," which means 
a throw without interference from a line 
fifteen feet from the goal. If she drops the 
ball in the basket, it counts one point for 
her team, but if she misses, the ball is in 
play wherever it drops. In practice games, 
one official starts the game by throwing 
the ball in the air between the two centers, 
and then sees that the playing is accord- 
ing to rules, calling fouls as they are made, 
and deciding all doubtful points as they 
arise. In match games there are more 
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officials, — a referee, an umpire, time- 
keepers, scorers, and linesmen to watch the 
lines and call fouls on players who step 
over. 

Basket-ball was originally played as an 
indoor game, but now outdoor courts are 
found all over the country, and games in 
the open air are a feature of the spring and 
fall terms of many schools and colleges. 
Vassar is a notable example, and invita- 
tions to the annual class championships are 
much prized. The rivalry is keen and the 
classes turn out en masse to cheer their ath- 
letic classmates on to victory. Smith Col- 
lege was one of the first to make basket-ball 
a part of the gymnastic work. Bryn Mawr, 
Barnard, Wellesley and the '* co-eds " of 
such colleges as Wisconsin, Chicago, Min- 
nesota and Nebraska have all become 
interested in the game. The college girls 
have confined their athletic aspirations to 
making the class team and winning class 
games, but the Normal and High School 
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PLAY 

teams throughout the country have met 
and struggled for athletic honors with 
teams from other schools, and the basket- 
ball trip is one of the pleasurable antici- 
pations of their school life. Not alone in 
schools and colleges are teams found, but 
in hundreds of the public playgrounds 
throughout the country happy girls are 
gaining strength and skill on the basket- 
ball fields that have been so generously 
provided by men and women who believe 
in the value of properly directed play. 

Basket-ball is a beautiful game to watch, 
as there is no game that is faster or capable 
of more variations. To see ten bright- 
eyed, rosy-cheeked girls play the game 
scientifically is a treat for any one. Clever 
passing, jumping and the catching of 
seemingly impossible balls, and then the 
well-judged and accurate throwing of the 
ball into the basket, are points of the well- 
played game, combining changes so rapid 
and plays so brilliant that the spectator 
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does not experience a monotonous moment. 
The expertness of a well-trained team of 
girls is always a marvel to any one who 
has never seen a game. Every one ad- 
mires strength, skill and grace, and those 
are the characteristics of basket-ball girls. 

Why is the game so interesting to women 
and girls, and what are the benefits.? 
This is a question often asked, as basket- 
ball has had to overcome the prejudice 
and opposition of those well-meaning but 
misguided people who have objected to all 
forms of physical exercise for girls. One 
needs only to study the growth of athletics 
for women to realize that such opposition 
is vain. Basket-ball stands to-day as the 
great national game for women. It is 
interesting because it contains all the com- 
petitive possibilities of any game. It is 
scientific, and the contests are always 
full of spirit when the teams are evenly 
matched. 

The benefits of the game are miany, and 
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might be classed as physical, mental and 
moral. It is remarkable to note how a 
girl will gain in health and strength, how 
an awkward girl develops grace and 
skill. At the end of a season's playing 
the basket-ball girls show certain marked 
changes, — better figures, a more erect 
carriage, and powers of endurance that 
would dismay the tightly-laced, fashion- 
plate miss of a few years ago. The play- 
ers actually improve in facial beauty; 
sparkling eyes, better color and an alert- 
ness of expression is developed by the 
game. If the improved health of our girls 
were the only argument in favor of the 
game, that in itself should answer all 
opposition. But there are other points 
that make the game a valued part of 
education. 

Observation and study have convinced 
us that there is a direct relation between 
mental and physical vigor. The men and 
women of to-day who are doing the great- 



PLAY 

est things for the good of the race are 
men and women of sound bodies, as well 
as sound minds. The principal of one 
of the leading New York State Normal 
Schools recently remarked : *' Young ladies 
whose school work was not up to the 
standard prior to playing basket-ball have 
taken more interest in the school, and 
have improved in their studies since taking 
up the game." Physical instructors and 
coaches of teams will tell you that, as a 
rule, the brightest girls in the school are 
playing the best game on the basket-ball 
team. In a comparison of all the marks of 
all the students in a New York Normal 
School, it was learned that the best girls, 
physically, had the best averages in their 
studies, while those of little vigor and low 
vitality were below the average. 

There is a moral side to basket-ball that 
is important. Usually in a first-class, well- 
trained team there is perfect harmony of 
feeling. Five girls are working together 
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PLAY 

with a common end in view, and the suc- 
cesses of one player are shared by the 
entire team. Therefore, a great moral 
principle is cultivated, the spirit of self- 
sacrifice. Personal interests are made 
subordinate, and all is for the team. This 
altruism is slow in developing sometimes, 
but it is sure to come eventually. Another 
great ethical victory is won when a girl 
learns to be absolutely fair and honorable 
in her play. The ideal of a team should 
be, and generally is, that a game honorably 
contested and lost is far better than a game 
won by unfair tactics. When a girl feels 
that an honorable defeat is worth more 
than a dishonorable victory, the character 
development involved cannot be estimated. 
Basket-ball brings out all that is best in a 
girl. 

The objections to athletics for women 

are not very commonly heard now. There 

are some facts that the objectors cannot 

get around, namely, that the physical 

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standard of women is being raised every 
year; that girls generally are healthier 
than ever before; that there are fewer 
breakdowns from overwork in the schools 
and colleges; and, perhaps most impor- 
tant of all, that the athletic girl is not 
less womanly because of her exercise, but 
that the contrary is true. A better, higher, 
more perfect type is the result of the 
increased interest in bodily improvement. 
The children of the future will be thankful 
that the mothers of to-day lived in an 
athletic age. 

The Coach 

The coach of a girl's basket-ball team 
must thoroughly understand the material 
with which he works in order to get the 
best results. The physical condition of 
the players must be carefully watched, and 
they should never be permitted to over- 
work. The first few practices of the 
season should be moderate and the play- 
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PLAY 

ing periods short; and it is in these pre- 
liminary practices that the coach sifts 
the candidates and gets a general idea as 
to their playing abilities. The coach 
should not be too premature in making 
his judgments, as often a player who makes 
a rather brilliant showing early in the 
season plays indifferently later, and just 
as often a mediocre player, by sheer pluck 
and hard work, will become the mainstay 
of a team. 

Every player should be encouraged, and 
willing candidates, even if slow and awk- 
ward, should be shown that their efforts 
are appreciated, as many times from 
seemingly poor material a star player is 
developed. After the players are in good 
condition, each playing period should be 
played at top speed. It is better to play 
five minutes fast than to loaf through 
a ten or fifteen-minute period. As the 
season advances, the playing time should 
be lengthened until the teams can play a 
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full fifteen-minute period and finish in 
good condition. 

A coach should be strict; looseness of 
play should not be tolerated, and a player 
who does not work every minute should 
be sent to the side lines. 

Whenever poor judgment is shown, the 
game should be stopped, and the players 
coached in the play that should have been 
made. A coach of any experience knows 
that his suggestions and criticisms are of 
most value at the moment a mistake is 
made, and as the game of basket-ball is 
so fast, it is necessary for the coach to 
keep up a running fire of suggestions and 
directions during the game. He should 
run in among the players, talking to this 
one and that one in a voice loud enough to 
penetrate the consciousness of players 
half hypnotized by their attention to a 
game that is so full of action and rapid 
changes. This method of coaching — 
shouting directions — at the players has 
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PLAY 

at first the effect of rattling the team, but 
as they get accustomed to it they become 
rattle-proof, and are ready for almost any 
condition that may arise. 

Each player should learn to play every 
position on the team, and all should be 
given practice in goal throwing. Goal- 
throwing competitions should be indulged 
in by the team from the foul line. The 
members of the team should try to rattle 
the thrower so that she can learn to use 
good judgment under adverse conditions. 
Fouls should be severely criticised, for a 
foul made in a game against a good team 
is too often a point for the opponents. 
The players should be compelled to play 
a clean, fast game. The rough player is 
usually the unskilful one, as roughness 
is depended on instead of science. 

The coach should be a student of the 

game, thoroughly understanding every rule 

and its rightful interpretation. He should 

understand the weakness and strength of 

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women, and should never permit his 
anxiety for a victory to override his judg- 
ment of condition. The health of his 
players should be the most important of 
considerations. His ideals should be such 
as to keep the game clean, fast and skil- 
ful, and free from any features that would 
detract from the qualities that characterize 
each player as a lady. 

The Center 

It is a mooted question as to which posi- 
tion on a basket-ball team is most impor- 
tant. It is certainly true that a star center 
makes the positions of her team mates 
much easier to play. The center should 
be an all-round player, good at guarding 
and avoiding her opponent, a good jumper, 
and above all of quick and accurate judg- 
ment, and cool and collected at all times. 
Usually a tall girl is selected for center, 
because of her advantage in getting the 
ball at the start of the game; then her 
176 




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PLAY 

height enables her to block throws that 
would pass over the head of a shorter girl. 
This is just a general rule, however, and 
does not apply to all cases. Many times 
a small girl will outplay all of the larger 
candidates for the center position. 

There is one general rule that should 
govern the playing of the center: when 
the opposing side has the ball, stick close 
to your opponent, but when your players 
have the ball, keep away from your op- 
ponent. When one of your guards gets 
the ball, immediately run towards the 
territory of your forwards, so that you will 
receive the throw near your own goal. 
This leaves your opposing center back of 
the play, and you can throw to your for- 
wards unguarded. Remember that you, 
as a center, may be called upon to assist 
in nearly every play, and you should be 
at any point where you can possibly be 
of use ; this is what distinguishes the good 
from the poor center. Some centers think 
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PLAY 

that if they have thrown the ball into the 
territory of the forwards their work is 
completed. This is not true; a good 
center will follow up every play, and assist 
in the passing along the forward line that 
will many times result in a goal. If a 
forward gets the ball outside near her 
territory, she should be there instantly to 
receive the throw and pass it back to the 
same player as she enters the field, or to 
the other forward. She should be able to 
anticipate the direction of the throws of 
the opposing guards, and agile enough to 
block them. She should practice long- 
distance goal throwing, for many times in 
a field that is not especially large she 
gets the ball close to the forward's line, 
unguarded. 

All in all, the ideal center should be the 
strongest, most active, most aggressive and 
most "heady" player on the team. 



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The Guard 

There is not a more important position 
on a basket-ball team than that of guard. 
If the guards play their positions per- 
fectly, their opposing forwards will not 
score, and if the opponents do not score, 
they cannot win. 

The position of guard is one of the most 
difficult to play, and is usually attended 
with the least praise. If a guard lacks for 
an instant in vigilance, and her forward 
makes a basket, she is blamed ; and if she 
plays a faultless game, she rarely gets the 
credit that is her due. The guard must 
not let her opposing forward get out of 
her sight or mind for an instant; she 
must follow the forward's every move- 
ment, and must anticipate what she is 
likely to do next. A general rule for a 
guard to observe is: always to be be- 
tween her opponent and the ball. The 
guard usually makes the mistake of pay- 
ing more attention to the ball than to her 
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PLAY 

opponent, and many a game has been 
lost by a guard whose anxiety to get the 
ball did not allow her to recover in time 
to guard her opponent, who, getting the 
ball on a pass, made a goal. 

There are some guards so expert that 
their opposing forwards rarely get a chance 
even to catch the ball. When her forward 
does get the ball, the guard should be as 
close as possible, without making a foul, 
with right hand raised and following the 
ball, and the left hand slightly lowered, 
ready to guard a right-hand throw around 
body. A clever forward will often mis- 
lead a guard by making a motion to 
throw for goal overhead. This makes the 
guard jump to block, and as she is coming 
down the throw is made. A good guard 
will distinguish between a deception and 
a real throw. The guard has two duties to 
perform: she prevents goals being made 
and feeds the ball to center and forwards. 
She must practice long-distance throwing, 
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PLAY 

for when her center is well guarded, she 
must be able to throw the ball accurately 
into the territory of the forwards. The 
guards should practice this a great deal, 
standing at opposite ends of the field, and 
throwing the ball back and forth. It is 
good practice to have a guard and for- 
ward stand at each end of the field; one 
guard will throw the ball down the field 
to the forward, who will catch it and 
throw for goal. She will then pass it to 
her guard, who will throw it back to the 
forward at the other end of the field, who 
throws for goal and then to guard. 

The guards are the backbone of a 
basket-ball team, and it is more impor- 
tant to have good guards than it is to 
have good forwards, for if the guarding is 
poor the forwards and center will not get 
the ball very often. 

A good guard should be strong and 
steady, and with endurance to follow the 
pace set by the fastest forward. 
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The Forward 

The forward or goal thrower must be 
active in the extreme. She must be as 
"quick as a cat," and at the same time be 
cool and accurate in handhng her position. 
Her playing requires faster foot work and 
more rapid throwing than that of guard 
or center. She must be able to catch the 
ball thrown, no matter how fast, how 
high or how low, and at the same in- 
stant know where she can throw it to the 
best advantage, either for a basket or to 
her other forward. She must know more 
different ways of throwing the ball than 
any other player on the team. She must 
learn to make goals with a two-hand 
throw, a one-hand throw from the back 
or side when guarded by a tall player, 
when on her knees, and while jumping in 
the air. She must learn to put the ball 
in the basket from directly underneath by 
striding a full step to one side and curving 
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it in. In coaching a forward to make 
goals, she should be taught to throw the 
ball the instant it is caught, so that the 
catch and throw is one continuous move- 
ment. A good forward will learn to use 
her center in passing. For instance, if 
she gets the ball near the center line out 
of bounds, her best play is to center, at 
the same time running into the field to 
receive the throw back. The forwards 
should study each other's style of playing, 
and in time each one will know intuitively 
where the other is at all stages of the 
game. They should practice together, 
throwing and passing the ball around in 
their territory. They should also talk 
things over together and plan ways of 
getting results. A good forward will not 
try for impossible goals, but will either 
dribble or pass when in a poor position. 
She must also learn to guard well, for 
when her opponent gets the ball, she 
must block the throw and keep the ball 
183 



PLAY 

in her own territory. An ideal forward 
should be the best all-round player on 
the team, for she not only must catch, 
throw and pass well, guard when occasion 
requires and be continually in action, but, 
most difficult of all, she must be able to 
throw a ball into a basket ten feet above 
the floor in the midst of excitement, with 
coolness and accuracy. 

The forward should learn to take ad- 
vantage of the three bounces or dribble 
permitted in girls' basket-ball rules, and 
much time should be spent practicing one 
to three bounces followed by a throw for 
basket, as there are many times in the 
progress of a game when a play of this 
kind will bring the forward close to the 
goal and in a better position for a clean 
shot. It also assists materially in avoid- 
ing the guard, when she can immediately 
find a player of her own side to pass to. 

She may take advantage of the three 
bounces in getting away from the guard, 
184 



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Four Wavs to Throw for Goal. Pa(/e 182 




A Throw from Directly Underneath. Page 184 




A Double Foul — Hugging Ball and Both Arms Around 

Page 188 




A Foul — Stepi'ing over Line. P<i<je 189 



PLAY 

and often a clever forward will throw the 
ball over the head of the opposing guard, 
as the guard changes, and dodging around 
will recover it in time to make a pass or 
throw for basket. All of these things 
tend toward expert play, and it is a knowl- 
edge of the fine points that adds to the 
players' efficiency. 

Team-Work 

By team-work is meant the work of the 
team as a whole in contradistinction to 
the monopoly of the playing by one or 
two stars. A team will never attain a 
very high degree of skill or gain much 
success unless each of the players learns 
to play her game as a part of the machine 
and not as an individual. It has often 
been noticed that a team of individual 
stars will lose in any athletic game to a 
team that has developed its team-work 
well. 

Forwards often make the mistake of 
185 



PLAY 

trying for a basket, when a quick throw 
to the other forward who is nearer the 
basket would result in a goal. In one 
case it is the individual attempt to make 
a star play, and in the other case it would 
have been team-work. To develop high- 
class team-work, the players should prac- 
tice passing a great deal. The two for- 
wards and center should work together, 
and the two guards and the center should 
work together. In this way, the methods 
of handling the ball and the little peculi- 
arities of each one's play can be studied. 
There are not many signals that are of 
much avail while the game is in progress, 
but before the ball is thrown up in the air 
after each goal, the center can give a 
signal by hand or position of feet showing 
whether she will catch the ball, or bat it 
to right or left, or straight down the field. 
The entire team should practice throwing 
the ball in from out of bounds, figuring 
to whom it should be thrown in different 
186 



PLAY 

parts of the field. When a guard gets the 
ball, the center should immediately start 
toward the territory of the forwards on a 
fast run, and the guard should throw the 
ball so that it will drop ahead of her. If 
the opposing center is on the right, she 
should throw the ball to the left, so that 
her center will be between her opponent 
and the ball. The team should practice 
low passing, keeping the ball about waist 
high, and throwing with a strong under- 
hand swing. A low, fast pass is the most 
difficult to guard. 

Every girl should read the rules care- 
fully and study them often. 

Officials and Players 

The officials for a match game should 
be very carefully chosen several days 
before the game. The official must be 
thoroughly familiar with the rules, prompt 
and accurate in decisions, fair and im- 
partial at all times, and he must so run 
187 



PLAY 

the game that the officialing wins the 
respect and confidence of players and 
audience. 

It is the best policy in college circles 
where the games are played by class 
teams for the coach to train the oflScials. 
Different ones may be tried and a list 
kept of the efiEcient. The mistake is 
often made of waiting until the last min- 
ute and then calling in as official a mem- 
ber of some boys' team. It is very diffi- 
cult for a man unfamiliar with girls' 
basket-ball to officiate successfully. Great 
care should be taken in choosing officials, 
and when once chosen, they should be 
treated courteously and their decisions 
be unquestioned. A sportsmanlike player 
will not show her impatience or dislike of 
a decision rendered against her, even if 
she does believe it unfair. Basket-ball 
is the fastest indoor game played, and it 
is impossible for the officials to see every- 
thing. Fouls may be made that are not 
188 



PLAY 

called, and a foul may be called on a 
player which she thinks she did not make. 
If the official should make a decision in 
direct violation of the rules, the captain 
of the team could call time, and quietly 
enter her protest. There should never 
be any wrangling over decisions. 

Another matter that is quite important 
in a girls' team is the dress and conduct 
of the players. The aesthetic side of 
basket-ball should always be considered. 
A basket-ball player should be as careful 
in the selection of a basket-ball suit as she 
would be in the selection of a ball gown. 
The suit should be comfortable, neat and 
of some solid color. The stocking should 
always be plain black. Every girl should 
arrange her hair so that there can be no 
danger of flying combs or pins and a 
general derangement of the coiffure that 
will necessitate the calling of time until 
her ^'greatest glory" is rebuilt. 

Players should not appear on the field 
189 



PLAY 

until the coach orders them out for the 
preliminary practice, and then they should 
retire until the game is called. They 
should not talk to or visit friends in the 
audience before the game or between the 
halves. 

When time is taken out for an accident 
or for any cause, every player should 
leave ffte field. Lounging around in view 
of the audience should be discouraged. 
From the time her basket-ball suit is 
donned until she is again attired in con- 
ventional costume she should give her 
entire attention to basket-ball. 



190 



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